Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to develop a plan for the funding and implementation of the Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program. Existing law requires the plan to include, among other things, a description of the method for collecting moneys to support and implement the program and a description of the method for determining the amount of moneys that may need to be collected from water ratepayers to fund the program. This bill would establish the Water Rate Assistance Program. As part of the program, the bill would establish the Water Rate Assistance Fund in the State Treasury, available upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide water affordability assistance for residential water services to low-income residential ratepayers, as specified. The bill would establish separate implementation procedures depending on whether the state board determines that the Legislature appropriated enough moneys from the fund for a partial implementation of the program or a statewide implementation of the program. The bill would require the state board to take various actions in administering the fund, including, among other things, tracking and managing revenue in the fund separately from all other revenue. The bill would require the state board, in consultation with relevant agencies and after a public hearing, to adopt guidelines for implementation of the program and to adopt and submit a report to the Legislature or post the report on its internet website, as specified. The bill would require the guidelines to include minimum requirements for eligible systems, including the ability to confirm eligibility for enrollment through a request for self-certification of eligibility under penalty of perjury. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the state board to take various actions in administering the program, including, but not limited to, providing guidance, oversight, and funding for low-income rate assistance for residential ratepayers of eligible systems. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, at the request of the state board, to bring an action in state court to restrain the use of any method, act, or practice in violation of these provisions, except as provided. The bill would make the implementation of all of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. 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 the Public Utilities Commission to appoint a chief internal auditor who holds office at the pleasure of the commission. Existing law makes the chief internal auditor responsible for the oversight of the internal audit unit. Existing law requires the chief internal auditor to plan, initiate, and perform audits of key financial, management, operational, and information technology functions within the commission to improve accountability and transparency to executive and state management, and to report their findings and recommendations directly to an audit subcommittee of the commission. This bill would instead require the Governor to appoint an Inspector General, subject to Senate confirmation, to be responsible for the oversight of the internal audit unit and would instead require the Inspector General to plan, initiate, and perform audits of key financial, management, operational, and information technology functions within the commission to improve accountability and transparency to executive and state management. The bill would also require the Inspector General to ensure, among other things, that the commission administers funds and programs in a prescribed manner, fulfills mandated requirements, develops an annual audit plan, administers an effective enterprise risk management program, and monitors reporting compliance. The bill would provide for the appointment and removal of the Inspector General, as specified. The bill would authorize the Inspector General to access and examine all records, files, documents, accounts, reports, correspondence, or other property of the commission and public utilities, and would require other entities that are regulated by the commission and participate in programs administered by the commission, upon request of the Inspector General, to provide or make available to the Inspector General for examination all relevant records, files, documents, accounts, reports, correspondence, or other property pertaining to participation in those programs, as specified. The bill would require the Inspector General to report specified information to the Governor and the Legislature, as provided.
The California Constitution specifies various requirements with respect to the levying of assessments and property-related fees and charges by a local agency. As part of those requirements, the California Constitution mandates that such fees or charges that are extended, imposed, or increased satisfy certain requirements, including, but not limited to, that the amount of the fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. Existing law, known as the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act (act) , prescribes specific procedures and parameters for local jurisdictions to comply with these requirements and, among other things, authorizes an agency providing water, wastewater, sewer, or refuse collection services to adopt a schedule of fees or charges authorizing automatic adjustments that pass through increases in wholesale charges for water, sewage treatment, or wastewater treatment or adjustments for inflation under certain circumstances. This bill would authorize a local government to demonstrate the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel by any method that reasonably allocates the ascertainable cost of providing service to all parcels, if substantiated as provided. The bill would, however, provide that for water or sewer service fee or charge impositions, a local government is not required to provide an exact measure of the cost of the service at each parcel and may instead impose uniform or tiered rates to parcel or customer classes that are defined based on common characteristics indicative of likely water or sewer use. The bill would provide that the proportional cost of service within each tier of water service may be substantiated by using any reasonable basis for allocating costs attributed to the tier, as described, and would provide a local government discretion to determine the costs allocated to each tier as long as the rate for each tier does not exceed the proportional cost of service reasonably allocated to parcels subject to that tier. The bill would specify that its provisions do not apply to fees for water connections or sewer connections, or capacity charges, as specified.
This measure would urge President Donald J. Trump to avoid raising the cost of living for American consumers by rescinding the tariffs that he has imposed since taking office in January 2025 and refunding the American people for the costs passed on to them by his tariffs. The measure would also urge the United States Congress to enact a joint resolution to rescind President Trump's tariffs and to oppose all future unilateral and arbitrary tariff increases imposed by President Trump.
Existing property tax law requires the auditor of each county with qualifying cities, as defined, to make certain property tax revenue allocations to those cities in accordance with an established Tax Equity Allocation formula. In any fiscal year in which a qualifying city is to receive a distribution under these provisions, existing law requires the auditor to reduce the actual amount distributed to the qualifying city by the sum of specified amounts, including any amount of property tax revenues that has been exchanged pursuant to specified law between the City of Rancho Mirage and a community services district. This bill would remove the above-described property tax revenues from the reductions to the actual amount distributed. By changing the duties on local officials to administer Tax Equity Allocation, this bill would impose 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. By removing the above-described property tax revenues from the reductions to the actual amount distributed, this bill would change the pro rata shares in which ad valorem property tax revenues are allocated among local agencies in a county, within the meaning of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 25.5 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
The electors of a county may propose an ordinance to the county board of supervisors by submitting an initiative petition containing signatures by registered voters in the county in an amount equal to 10% of the number of votes cast within the county for all candidates for Governor at the preceding gubernatorial election. If the county elections official certifies that an initiative petition has been signed by at least that number of voters, the county board of supervisors is required to either adopt the ordinance or submit it to the voters at the next statewide election occurring not less than 88 days later. This bill would require any Fresno County initiative petition that has been certified as sufficient by the Fresno County Registrar of Voters on or before July 8, 2026, to be submitted, without alteration, to the voters at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Fresno. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for the establishment of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, with specified powers and duties related to the operation of public transit services serving the County of Santa Cruz. Existing law, among other things, authorizes the board of directors of the district to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law by an ordinance approved by the electors voting on the measure at a special election called by the board of directors for that purpose. This bill would also authorize those special taxes to be imposed by a qualified voter initiative. The bill would require the special election for a tax measure proposed by the board of directors or a qualified voter initiative to be consolidated with a statewide general election by the board of supervisors of the County of Santa Cruz and would require the tax measure to be submitted to the voters in accordance with specified elections provisions. The bill would also require the county elections official for the County of Santa Cruz to serve as the elections official of the district for purposes of administering the ballot measure process and any election for purposes of specified provisions of law. To the extent that the bill would impose additional duties on a county elections official, the bill would impose 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Corporation Tax Law, imposes taxes based upon gross income, and defines "gross income" as all income from whatever source derived, unless specifically excluded. Existing law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. The Corporation Tax Law conforms to federal law in its treatment of certain exclusions and credits. Existing law provides for certain programs for free legal services for indigent persons. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, enact the No Tax Breaks for ICE Contractors Act of 2026, which would deny all tax credits otherwise available under the Corporation Tax Law to any taxpayer that contracts with United States Department of Homeland Security, except as provided. The bill would establish the California Immigrant Resilience Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board, in consultation with the Department of Finance, to estimate the amount of additional revenue resulting from the provisions of the bill, notify the Controller of that amount, and require the Controller to transfer that amount to the fund. The bill would make moneys in the fund available to provide immigration-related services, including removal defense, as provided, upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law authorizes various local governmental entities, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in any county not exceed 2%. This bill would authorize, until December 31, 2031, the County of Los Angeles, by an ordinance adopted by the county, to levy a tax pursuant to the Transactions and Use Tax Law at a rate not to exceed 0.5% for general and special purposes, subject to voter approval, as specified. The bill would also authorize, until December 31, 2031, the County of Contra Costa, by an ordinance adopted by the county, to levy a tax pursuant to the Transactions and Use Tax Law at a rate not to exceed 0.625% for general or specific purposes, subject to voter approval, as specified. The bill would authorize those taxes to exceed the 2% limit described above. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Contra Costa and Los Angeles. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prescribes the procedures by which a proposed ordinance may be submitted to the governing board of a district by an initiative measure. These procedures do not apply to specified districts, including a district formed under a law that does not provide a procedure for elections. This bill would authorize the voters of any district that has authority to impose a transactions and use tax for transportation purposes to impose a retail transactions and use tax by an initiative measure. The bill would prohibit the initiative tax from exceeding the maximum authorized rate for a tax imposed by an ordinance enacted by the governing body of the district, and the bill would require the initiative measure to contain all spending limitations and substantive accountability standards applicable to a tax imposed by an ordinance enacted by the governing body. To the extent the bill would increase the duties of county elections officials, the bill would impose 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.
