SB 1001 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Local agency, public utility, or mutual water company: personnel access: Personal Identity Verification-Interoperable.

Summary

Existing law creates the Office of Emergency Services within the office of the Governor and sets forth its powers and duties, including establishing by rule and regulation various classes of disaster service workers, the scope and duty of each class, and the way disaster service workers of each class are to be registered. Existing law authorizes officers of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, police departments, marshal's office or sheriff's office, and officers or employees of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or the Department of Fish and Wildlife designated as peace officers to close to all unauthorized persons an area where a menace to the public health or safety created by a calamity exists for the duration of the menace and the immediate area surrounding any emergency field command post or any other command post activated for the purpose of abating a calamity, riot, or other civil disturbance, as specified. Under existing law, an unauthorized person who enters or remains in a closed area, as prescribed, is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would, beginning on July 1, 2028, require the Office of Emergency Services, upon request, to issue a local agency, public utility, or mutual water company responsible for public works and critical infrastructure with specified credentialing to facilitate personnel access to an area during or following a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster. The bill would specify that the credentialing, a Personal Identity Verification-Interoperable (PIV-I) , would conform with the federal Personal Identity Verification standards pursuant to federal National Incident Management System guidelines. This bill would require the application for a PIV-I card to be signed by a duly authorized representative of a local agency, public utility, or mutual water company and include a certification by the local agency, public utility, or mutual water company. This bill would require the office to impose and collect a fee from a local agency, public utility, or mutual water company for a PIV-I card that does not exceed the reasonable costs of the identification card program. This bill would specify that the authorization for particular officers to close an area, as described above, shall not prevent an individual who holds a valid PIV-I card or an individual who holds a valid identification card issued by a local agency, public utility, or mutual water company from entering the closed area unless a peace officer finds that the disaster is of such a nature that it would be unsafe for the cardholder to enter or that the presence of the cardholder would interfere with disaster response.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Last action May 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/21/26 - Amended Senate → SB1001 · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text content is substantively unchanged between these two versions. The differences are entirely formatting and presentation: the old version used a PDF-style layout with line numbers and page headers, while the new version is a clean web-page rendering with navigation elements. No policy language, dates, thresholds, or eligibility criteria were modified.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was reformatted from a paginated document with line numbers to a plain web-text layout. Website navigation elements (home, accessibility, FAQ, search, etc.) were added around the bill content.

03/17/26 - Amended Senate → 04/21/26 - Amended Senate · 7 edits · Apr 21, 2026

MODERATE

The April 21 amendment significantly broadens SB 1001 from a water-utility-specific identification card program to a general critical infrastructure access credentialing program. It adds 'public utility' (as defined in Public Utilities Code Section 216) as an eligible entity category, expands the types of covered disasters to include acts of terrorism and other man-made disasters, and removes the state-mandated local program designation that had triggered constitutional reimbursement analysis. The bill also makes the fee mandatory rather than optional and broadens who can enter closed areas by recognizing non-PIV-I identification cards issued by local agencies, public utilities, or mutual water companies.

SCOPE

The eligible entity categories expanded from 'local agency, corporation, or mutual water company' to 'local agency, corporation, public utility, or mutual water company.' A new definition ties 'public utility' to Section 216 of the Public Utilities Code, bringing regulated utilities (electric, gas, water) into the program.

The covered disaster types changed from 'flood, storm, fire, earthquake, or other disaster' with a specific purpose of 'repair and restoration of water service' to the broader 'natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster,' removing the water-specific limitation.

Penal Code 409.5(f) now also permits entry for individuals holding a valid identification card issued by a local agency, public utility, or mutual water company - not just PIV-I cards issued by the Office of Emergency Services - broadening who can access closed disaster areas.

REQUIREMENT

The access provision in Government Code 8585.6(c) changed from 'shall only be granted' to 'may be granted,' making entry into closed areas discretionary rather than mandatory for PIV-I cardholders.

The application requirement changed from 'completed appropriate safety training' to 'completed appropriate education, training, experience, and certification or licensure for performing the purposes for access. an emergency support function discipline or activity,' making the qualification standard broader and more specific.

FISCAL

The fee provision changed from authorizing the office to impose a fee to requiring the office to impose and collect one, making cost recovery mandatory rather than optional.

ENFORCEMENT

Section 3 (the constitutional reimbursement clause stating no reimbursement is required because the act creates a new crime) was removed entirely, and the state-mandated local program designation changed from 'yes' to 'no.'

02/09/26 - Introduced → 03/17/26 - Amended Senate · 7 edits · Mar 17, 2026

MODERATE

SB 1001 was substantially amended in Senate to add a July 1, 2028 implementation date, require the identification credential to conform to federal Personal Identity Verification-Interoperable (PIV-I) standards under National Incident Management System guidelines, expand covered disaster types to include acts of terrorism and man-made disasters, broaden application requirements to include education, experience, and certification or licensure, add a new legislative findings section, and add a savings clause protecting existing OES relationships with local emergency operations plans. The state-mandated local program designation was changed from yes to no.

TIMELINE

Added a July 1, 2028 effective date for the office to develop the water utility worker identification program and to prepare and make available the application form.

REQUIREMENT

The identification credential is now specified as a Personal Identity Verification-Interoperable (PIV-I) card that must conform with federal Personal Identity Verification standards pursuant to federal National Incident Management System guidelines, rather than a generic identification card.

SCOPE

Added 'act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster' to the list of covered events for which access is authorized, expanding beyond natural disasters.

Added a new Section 1 containing legislative findings and declarations about critical infrastructure vulnerability, the need for timely utility personnel access, and OES authority to provide guidance to local emergency management agencies and encourage review of emergency preparedness plans.

ELIGIBILITY

Application requirements expanded from indicating the worker completed 'appropriate safety training' to indicating completion of 'education, training, experience, and certification or licensure for performing the purposes for access.'

TECHNICAL

Added new Section 4 stating that nothing in the measure is intended to impact the relationship, duties, or responsibilities between the Office of Emergency Services and local emergency operations plans, emergency operations centers, and the incident command system.

FISCAL

The state-mandated local program designation was changed from 'yes' to 'no,' indicating the bill no longer imposes a state-mandated local program under the definition of a crime expansion.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

upper

Apr 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 3871.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 8. Noes 0. Page 3657.) (March 24). Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.M.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on E.M. and PUB. S.

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors