Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and designates air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law requires the state board to inventory sources of air pollution within the air basins of the state, determine the kinds and quantity of air pollutants, and monitor air pollutants in cooperation with districts and other agencies. Existing law requires the state board to adopt standards of ambient air quality for each air basin in consideration of the public health, safety, and welfare, including, but not limited to, health, illness, irritation to the senses, aesthetic value, interference with visibility, and effects on the economy. Existing law authorizes these standards to vary from one air basin to another. This bill would require the state board, in consultation with specified entities, to develop, as provided, a response framework that establishes best practices and guidance for addressing fugitive and natural sources of hydrogen sulfide gas and for community preparation and response to hydrogen sulfide exposure events originating from these sources. The bill would require the state board, in developing the response framework, to conduct at least 3 public workshops, including at least one located in the Tijuana River Valley region, at least one located in the Salton Sea region, and at least one selected in consultation with a community that has experienced significant hydrogen sulfide exposure. The bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to update the acute and chronic reference exposure levels for hydrogen sulfide and to develop additional health guidance values for hydrogen sulfide, if the need is identified by the state board, in consultation with the office, during development of the response framework.
The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity protection and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Of these funds, the act makes $300,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for improving climate resilience and sustainability of agricultural lands, including, among other things, by making $15,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, for purposes of providing grants to public postsecondary educational institutions that are designated as Agricultural Experiment Stations or Agricultural Research Institutes, to develop research farms to improve climate resiliency, as specified. Existing law authorizes a state agency to furnish services, materials, or equipment to, or perform work for, any other state agency upon terms and conditions and for the consideration as they may determine, and to enter into agreements for that purpose, subject to approval of the Director of General Services. Existing law requires a state agency that furnishes the services, materials, or equipment to, or performs the work for, the other state agency to compute charges in a manner approved by the Director of Finance. Existing law authorizes a state agency to provide for the advancing of funds, as provided, to defray those charges. This bill would authorize the State Department of Education to advance a payment for a contract or agreement made with the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to the research farm provisions of Proposition 4, described above, in the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years. The bill would exempt those contracts and agreements from the above-described requirement of approval by the Director of General Services. The bill would provide, for purposes of those contracts and agreements, that developing a research farm pursuant to the research farm provisions of Proposition 4 includes constructing a new research farm and maintaining, altering, or improving an existing research farm previously constructed by the Agricultural Experiment Station or the Agricultural Research Institute. This bill would provide, for purposes of the research farm grants, that Agricultural Experiment Stations and Agricultural Research Institutes are designated by the University of California and the California State University.
The State Aeronautics Act establishes the Aeronautics Account in the State Transportation Fund, and continuously appropriates the moneys in the account for expenditure for airport purposes by the Division of Aeronautics within the Department of Transportation and the California Transportation Commission. Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, including taxes imposed on the sale, storage, use, or other consumption of jet fuels. Existing law requires revenues from these taxes to be transmitted to the Treasurer and deposited into the Retail Sales Tax Fund. Existing federal law requires that any revenue from sales and use taxes imposed on aviation fuel be used for the operation costs of airports, the local airport system, or other local facilities that are directly and substantially related to the air transportation of passengers or property, except as provided. This bill would require the Controller, on or before September 1 of each year, to transfer an amount calculated to represent the sales and use tax revenues derived with respect to the sale, storage, use, or other consumption of jet fuel, as provided, from the Retail Sales Tax Fund to the account for allocation to airports and aviation-related purposes, as provided. The bill would require all public and private use airports where jet fuel is sold or consumed to report fuel flowage statistics to the Division of Aeronautics, as provided, and would require the division to determine the revenue allocation for each airport that reports fuel flowage statistics. By adding new reporting requirements for county-owned and city-owned airports, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. From the above-described sales and use tax revenues deposited into the account, this bill would require the division, after deducting its administrative costs, as provided, to allocate 75% of those revenues to public and private use airports based on their reported fuel flowage statistics, as provided, 15% of those revenues for general aviation airports, as provided, 1% to award grants for aviation education, as provided, and 9% for existing grant programs that serve nonhub and small hub airports. From the above-described 75% of revenues deposited into the account, the bill would apportion, until January 1, 2032, $500,000 annually to award grants to rural, nonhub commercial airports and general aviation airports, as provided. By increasing the sources of funding for and expanding the purposes for which money may be used from a continuously appropriated fund, the Aeronautics Account, this bill would make an appropriation. 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.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including emergency or nonemergency medical or nonmedical transportation services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Under this bill, commencing on July 1, 2027, and subject to an appropriation, Medi-Cal fee-for-service reimbursement for nonemergency ambulance transportation services, as defined, would be in an amount equal to 80% of the amount set forth in the federal Medicare ambulance fee schedule for the corresponding level of service, adjusted by the Geographic Practice Cost Index, as specified. The bill would require the department to establish a Medi-Cal managed care directed payment program for nonemergency ambulance transportation services, with the reimbursement rates set in an amount equal to at least the amount set forth under fee-for-service reimbursement. The bill would require the department to maximize federal financial participation in implementing the above-described provisions to the extent allowable. To the extent that federal financial participation is unavailable, the bill would require the department to implement the provisions using state funds, as specified. Under the bill, whenever the medical necessity of nonemergency ambulance transportation services needs to be certified for purposes of Medi-Cal coverage, either a physician or a nonphysician authorized under certain federal regulations would be permitted to complete that certification, as specified. The bill would require the department to revise and update the Medi-Cal provider manual or any guidance, as applicable, to implement this provision. Existing Medi-Cal regulations require that records of medical transportation providers include, among other information, odometer readings at each pickup and delivery location. Under this bill, for purposes of documenting mileage in their records under the Medi-Cal program, medical transportation providers would be authorized to utilize vehicle Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking, digital mapping software or applications, or another reasonable mechanism identified by the department, as specified, in addition to the above-described odometer readings. The bill would require the department to revise and update any corresponding regulations, including the above-described provision.
The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 provides for the adoption of rules, regulations, and procedures, under the administration of the Director of General Services, for the allocation of state funds by the State Allocation Board for the construction and modernization of public school facilities. Existing law establishes the Charter Schools Facilities Program within the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 to provide funding to qualifying entities for the purpose of establishing school facilities for charter school pupils. Existing law requires that a 50% matching share be provided by charter schools applying for facilities funding under the program. Existing law requires the California School Finance Authority, in consultation with the board, to adopt regulations for the program, including, among other regulations, the process for determining the manner in which the applicant will pay its local matching share, including the method for determining lease payments to be made in lieu of the local matching share. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2028, for filing rounds opened on or after January 1, 2028, if the 50% local share matching obligation or lease payments would result in the applicant charter school suffering an undue financial burden, as provided, require the authority to notify the board and authorize the board to reduce the 50% local share matching obligation or lease payments, and correspondingly increase the grant amount, as necessary for the school to reach a reasonable level of debt service. The bill would require the authority, in consultation with the board, to adopt regulations for that purpose and would require the authority and the board to adopt the method for determining whether the 50% local share matching obligation or lease payments would result in the charter school suffering an undue financial burden, in consultation with the department and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law establishes the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program under the administration of the Director of Emergency Services to improve the physical security of nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of violent attacks or hate crimes due to ideology, beliefs, or mission. Existing law authorizes applicants to use grant funds for prescribed security enhancements, including security training. Existing law makes the operation of the program contingent upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act. This bill would instead establish the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program to improve the physical security of nonprofit organizations and events hosted by nonprofit organizations that are at a high risk of violent attacks or hate crimes, as described above. The bill would also authorize the grant money to be used by applicants for security enhancements for security for onsite or offsite events hosted by a nonprofit organization, as defined and specified. The bill would prohibit these provisions from limiting a nonprofit organization without a physical site from being eligible for funding for offsite events, as specified. The bill would limit security for offsite events to $25,000 of the grant funds awarded. The bill would prohibit the Office of Emergency Services from imposing monetary and percentile limits on any individual eligible security enhancement, except as specified.
Existing law prescribes a calculation to annually apportion funding to special education local plan areas for each pupil with low-incidence disabilities, defined to include pupils with hearing impairments, vision impairments, and severe orthopedic impairments, or any combination thereof, in accordance with a per-pupil entitlement based on the number of pupils with low-incidence disabilities reported in the prior fiscal year. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to apportion these funds to special education local plan areas for purposes of providing special education and related services as required under the individualized education program for each pupil with low-incidence disabilities. This bill would, contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes, (1) require the per-pupil entitlement to also be based on the number of pupils eligible to take specified alternative assessments and (2) require the Superintendent to apportion these funds to special education local plan areas for purposes of also providing special education and related services as required under the individualized education program for each pupil who is eligible to take those alternative assessments.
Existing law, the Corporation Tax Law, exempts organizations that are organized and operated for nonprofit purposes, as specified, from taxes imposed by that law if the Franchise Tax Board issues a determination exempting the organization from tax, except as provided. To receive a determination of exemption from the board, existing law requires the organization to either submit an application for exemption or to submit documentation of exemption from federal income tax law, as provided. For organizations that submit documentation of their federal exemption, existing law requires the board to suspend or revoke, as applicable, an organization's state exemption upon notification that the organization's federal exemption is suspended or revoked. This bill would instead authorize the board, in its discretion, to retain the organization's tax-exempt status for state income tax purposes if it determines this suspension or revocation occurred for reasons other than fraud, intentional misrepresentation, misuse or diversion of organizational funds, failure to file necessary returns or reports, or other breaches of organizational reporting or governance requirements. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Mills-Deddeh Transit Development Act establishes the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board, also known as the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) , governed by a 15-member board with specified powers and duties related to the operation of public transit services in the southern portion of the County of San Diego. The act authorizes MTS to impose a transactions and use tax of up to 0.5% for public transit purposes within its jurisdiction, or a portion of its jurisdiction, pursuant to the Transactions and Use Tax Law and subject to voter approval and various other requirements. This bill would also authorize those taxes to be imposed by a qualified voter initiative. 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 Transactions and Use Tax Law limits the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in any county to 2%. This bill would prohibit the tax rate of 0.5% described above that may be imposed by MTS or a qualified voter initiative from being considered for purposes of the combined rate limit under the Transactions and Use Tax Law. 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.
The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act creates within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (bank) and requires it to administer the act, which, among other things, provides for the financing of certain economic development projects. This bill would establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Multifamily Backstop Financing Program (program) , for purposes of supporting multifamily projects through the provision of state-backed credit backstops that would enable surety companies to issue payment and performance bonds to qualified offsite housing factories in the state. The bill would authorize the bank to provide credit backstops to surety companies and surety insurers that issue construction bonds according to specified parameters. The bill would require the bank to adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the program.
