SB 1108 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Grassland Ecological Area Conservancy.

Summary

Existing law authorizes various conservancies to acquire, manage, direct the management of, and conserve lands in the state. This bill would establish the Grassland Ecological Area Conservancy within the Natural Resources Agency, with jurisdiction over the Grassland Ecological Area and the Grassland Focus Area, as defined, for specified purposes, including to protect, conserve, and restore the physical, cultural, archaeological, historical, and living resources of the Grassland Ecological Area and the Grassland Focus Area and to provide increased opportunities for tourism and recreation. The bill would require the conservancy to be governed by a board composed of designated voting members, including certain members appointed by certain local agencies, and nonvoting liaison advisers. The bill would set forth the powers, duties, and limitations of the governing board and the conservancy, as provided. The bill would create the Grassland Ecological Area Conservancy Fund and would make moneys in the fund available for expenditure by the conservancy, upon appropriation by the Legislature, only for the purposes of these provisions. The bill would require all funds or income received by the conservancy, including proceeds from donations or a lease, rental, sale, exchange, or transfer of an interest or option in real property, to be deposited into the fund. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Assembly Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 17, 2026 Last action Aug 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

07/01/26 - Amended Assembly → SB1108 · 1 edit

MINOR

The diff between the Amended Assembly version (July 1, 2026) and the final SB 1108 version is primarily a formatting change from a formal legislative document (with line numbers and page headers) to a web-formatted bill text. The only substantive policy change is the addition of Senator Cortese as a coauthor alongside Senator Grayson. No changes were made to the bill's operative provisions, definitions, funding mechanisms, or governance structure.

SCOPE

Senator Cortese was added as a coauthor of the bill alongside Senator Grayson, indicating broader legislative sponsorship for the Grassland Ecological Area Conservancy.

04/07/26 - Amended Senate → 07/01/26 - Amended Assembly · 8 edits · Jul 1, 2026

MODERATE

The Assembly amendment to SB 1108 adds a new Section 1 that amends Government Code Section 12805 to rename the Resources Agency to the Natural Resources Agency and formally include the Grassland Ecological Area Conservancy in its list of constituent agencies. The bill also significantly expands the geographic scope of the Grassland Focus Area by adding detailed legal descriptions of lands east of State Highway Route 99, adds two new conservancy purposes (climate resilience/equity and economic well-being), specifies the headquarters and meeting location as the County of Merced rather than a general 'region,' and changes the agricultural board member eligibility from the Ecological Area to the broader Focus Area.

SCOPE

New Section 1 amends Government Code Section 12805 to rename the Resources Agency to the Natural Resources Agency and adds the Grassland Ecological Area Conservancy to the list of agencies within it. This gives the conservancy formal statutory placement within the state agency structure.

The Grassland Focus Area definition is substantially expanded to include all lands east of State Highway Route 99, with a detailed legal description tracing boundaries along Le Grand Road, Minturn Road, Wade Avenue, Clausen Road, East Childs Avenue, and Harvey Pettit Road, plus specific latitude/longitude coordinates. This significantly increases the geographic area under conservancy jurisdiction.

DEFINITION

The Grassland Ecological Area definition now references the County of Merced's 2030 General Plan as the source for the described and mapped area, rather than relying solely on a list of named areas.

REQUIREMENT

Two new purposes are added for the conservancy: (i) support efforts advancing both environmental preservation and economic well-being of regional residents in a complementary manner, and (j) support efforts that advance climate resilience and equity.

A new section requires the board to produce and maintain an official map precisely delineating both the Grassland Ecological Area and Grassland Focus Area, with the Natural Resources Agency required to publicly post it on its website.

ELIGIBILITY

The agricultural landowner board member is now required to be a landowner in the Grassland Ecological Focus Area rather than the Grassland Ecological Area, broadening the pool of eligible appointees to include agricultural operations in the expanded buffer zone.

TECHNICAL

The conservancy headquarters location and regular meeting location are changed from 'within the region' or 'within, or near, the region' to specifically 'the County of Merced,' providing a more precise geographic requirement.

All Public Resources Code sections are renumbered (e.g., 33230 becomes 33230 under new Section 2, board sections shift from 33234-33246 to 33240-33252, etc.) to accommodate the new Government Code amendment as Section 1.

Floor votes · Senate May 19, 2026

How they voted

37–1

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 40

May 19, 2026

D Democratic30

30 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican10

7 Yea 1 Nay 2

70% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

lower

Jul 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Jun 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 30).

lower

Jun 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on W., P., & W. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on W., P., & W.

lower

Jun 1, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and W., P., & W.

lower

May 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 1. Page 4354.) Ordered to the Assembly.

upper

May 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4265.) (May 14).

upper

Apr 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 3660.) (March 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Introduced

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

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors