(1) Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law authorizes blends of gasoline containing 10.5% to 15% ethanol by volume to be sold in the state for use as a transportation fuel until specified actions are taken by the California Environmental Policy Council and the state board. Existing law requires the state board to adopt performance standards for gasoline vapor control systems during gasoline marketing operations and to certify any gasoline vapor control system that meets those performance standards and other specified requirements. Existing law also requires the State Fire Marshal, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and the Division of Measurement Standards to adopt rules and regulations on various aspects of gasoline vapor control systems and components and to certify compliance of those systems and components with their respective rules and regulations. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2029, vapor control systems and their components that are certified or approved by the state agencies listed above for use with gasoline and ethanol blends containing 10% ethanol to also be used with gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% and up to 15% ethanol if the manufacturer of the equipment submits a statement of compatibility, signed under penalty of perjury, to each of those state agencies. The bill would require the service station dispensing an ethanol blend containing more than 10% and up to 15% ethanol to comply with certain labeling required by the State Fire Marshal. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2026, the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations governing the labeling and safe use of gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% and up to 15% ethanol with vapor control systems and their components that have been authorized for use pursuant to the above-described provisions. (2) Existing law generally regulates the storage of hazardous substances in underground storage tanks and requires underground storage tanks that are used to store hazardous substances to meet certain requirements. Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board and the State Air Resources Board to certify that the equipment that meets certain requirements for enhanced vapor recovery systems at gasoline dispensing facilities also meets the underground storage tank laws, as specified. This bill would require, until January 1, 2029, that any enhanced vapor control system at gasoline dispensing facilities suitable for gasoline and ethanol blends containing 10% ethanol be deemed certified or approved for the use of gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% ethanol and up to 15% ethanol if the manufacturer of the equipment submits the aforementioned statement of compatibility. (3) Existing law establishes in the Department of Industrial Relations the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and authorizes the board to adopt, amend, or repeal occupational safety and health standards and orders. Existing law imposes various requirements on occupational safety and health standards, including that those standards be at least as effective as federal standards, as specified. This bill would require, until January 1, 2029, that any device used for dispensing flammable liquids with an ethanol content of up to 10% be deemed approved for purposes of occupational safety and health standards and orders for the use of gasoline and ethanol blends containing more than 10% ethanol and up to 15% ethanol if the manufacturer of the equipment submits the aforementioned statement of compatibility. (4) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and establishes various programs for the prevention and reduction of wildfires. This bill, which would be operative until January 1, 2033, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Fire Innovation Unit within the department to serve as the department's innovation arm for wildfire technology research, coordination, procurement, and deployment for technologies that, among other things, improve ecosystem and landscape scale resilience. The bill would require the unit to consist of the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development, the Innovation, Outreach and Coordination Program, and the Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program, as provided. The bill would authorize the unit to establish and administer a program to fund early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects that enhance wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response through grants, contracts, or both. The bill would also authorize the unit to (1) administer or monitor pilot, prototype, or demonstration projects to evaluate, mature, and validate wildfire-related technologies, (2) collaborate with public and private educational and research institutions on wildfire technology and innovation, (3) establish testbeds to test or evaluate emerging technologies, (4) provide technical assistance to local, state, federal, and international fire agencies to facilitate deployment of wildfire-related technologies, (5) maintain a publicly accessible resource to provide visibility into these wildfire-related technologies, and (6) provide opportunities for participation in demonstrations, pilot programs, and field testing, as provided. This bill would require the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature summarizing certain information related to the unit, including, among other things, the technologies and projects evaluated, tested, or deployed.
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. This bill would require a community water system that services more than 100 customers that are located in a high or very high fire risk area, as defined, to include an annex to its disaster preparedness plans, as provided, that includes information regarding system preparedness and resiliency during a wildfire. The bill would require the annex to contain several things, including, among others, an assessment that identifies the minimum number of and type of water pumps that are necessary to maintain average daily capacity, including, but not limited to, the operation of fire hydrant systems at the rated capacity. The bill would require the community water system, beginning January 1, 2028, to review the annex at least once every 3 years and to update the annex as necessary. The bill would prohibit anything contained in the annex from enlarging or diminishing any existing liability and would prohibit information provided in the annex from, on its own, demonstrating a substantial cause of any damages resulting from a wildfire.
The Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 requires the State Fire Marshal to administer provisions regulating the inspection of intrastate pipelines that transport hazardous liquids. The act requires the State Fire Marshal to adopt hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations in compliance with the federal law relating to hazardous liquid pipeline safety, as provided. The act authorizes the State Fire Marshal to exempt the application of those regulations to any pipeline, or portion thereof, when it is determined that the risk to public safety is slight and the probability of injury or damage remote. The act requires any new or replacement pipeline near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in the coastal zone to use best available technology based on a risk analysis conducted by the operator to reduce the amount of oil released in an oil spill to protect state waters and wildlife. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation issued pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided. This bill would make an application for a specified exemption pursuant to these provisions subject to a 60-day public comment period and, upon request of any interested person, require it to be considered at a public hearing. The bill would make a project that has received an exemption from the State Fire Marshal, as described above, subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill would make any repaired pipeline near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in the coastal zone subject to the requirement to use best available technology based on a risk analysis conducted by an independent expert, rather than the operator, and require that analysis to address prevention, as well as reduction, of the amount of oil released in an oil spill, as described above, and make related changes. The bill would prohibit idled, inactive, or out-of-service hazardous liquid pipelines under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal that have experienced a reportable incident, such as a hazardous liquid spill, from being reactivated or operated, unless specified conditions are met. The bill would require, for any idled, inactive, or out-of-service pipeline that has spilled 10,000 gallons or more of hazardous liquid, the operator to permanently abandon the pipeline by July 1, 2027, or within 6 months of the pipeline's most recent incident, and require the operator to restore the site to its natural condition no later than one year following permanent abandonment. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to require permanent abandonment of a pipeline if the best available technology is not achievable for a pipeline because of operational aspects, pipeline or regional conditions, or other factors. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to suspend the operations of any pipeline that is not in compliance with the requirements to use best available technology no later than January 1, 2027. Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells, as provided. A person who violates, fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with the oil and gas laws, or who fails, neglects, or refuses to furnish any report or record required pursuant to those laws, is guilty of a crime. This bill would require an operator seeking approval for a new well, production facility, or specified pipelines in the coastal zone to submit an oil leak detection and response plan, as specified, and obtain approval from the division before obtaining approval for the new well, production facility, or specified pipeline. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to grant permits and easements to an oil and gas lessee of the state for pipeline right-of-way purposes. This bill would prohibit any intrastate oil pipeline that has spilled 10,000 gallons or more of oil cumulatively since its construction from operating within 0.5 miles of a state park, a designated ecological reserve, as defined, or a wildlife area, as determined by the Fish and Game Commission. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires specified lifeguards, firefighters, and peace officers to be trained to administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) , and requires the training to meet standards prescribed by the Emergency Medical Services Authority. Existing law requires, by January 1, 2027, a public safety agency that provides "911" call processing services for emergency medical response to provide prearrival medical instructions to "911" callers requiring medical assistance, including, among other things, CPR instructions for children and children and adults. Existing law also requires persons providing aquatic instruction at a public swimming pool to possess current certificates from an American Red Cross or a YMCA of the USA lifeguard training program, or have equivalent qualifications, as determined by the State Department of Public Health, and requires lifeguard service, as defined, to be provided for any public swimming pool that is of wholly artificial construction and for the use of which a direct fee is charged. This bill would clarify that CPR instructions, for purposes of the above-described "911" provision, also include CPR instruction in both ventilation and chest compressions for calls that involve a drowning victim. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health, in coordination with other specified state entities, to review and update the state's public communications efforts to ensure everyone in California is educated about the importance of CPR knowledge and how to obtain CPR training. This bill would also require the Emergency Medical Services Authority to, on or before June 30, 2028, and biennially thereafter, submit a report to the Commission on Emergency Medical Services and the Legislature on California's lifeguard workforce, as prescribed, to better understand and report on California's lifeguard workforce. The bill would authorize the Emergency Medical Services Authority to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, utilize specified funds provided for these purposes in the "Have a Heart, Be a Star, Help Our Kids" license plate program, and would make this provision operative only if Assembly Bill 1634 of the 2025–26 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2027.
