The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to administer a statewide program to license manufacturers, distributers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products. The act requires a retailer to have in place and maintain a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products. The act requires a $265 fee to be submitted with the application for the license. Existing law requires every retailer to file an application for renewal of the license accompanied by a $265 fee per retail location. This bill would make conforming changes to the provisions describing the application process for the license described above and recast that license as a retailer license. The bill would require each application for a retailer license filed on or after July 1, 2026, to be accompanied by a fee of $450 per retail location. The bill would increase the fee for renewal of a retailer license to $450 for renewal applications filed on or after July 1, 2026. The bill would authorize the department to adjust application and renewal fees applicable after July 1, 2026, to an amount not exceeding $600 per retail location to maintain the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund at a level that is no more than necessary to cover the reasonable costs of the department to administer the act. The act requires a retailer who sells tobacco products that are exempt from taxation under the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law to pay a fee of $265 for the issuance or renewal of a license. This bill would recast that license as a retailer license and make other conforming changes. The bill would require each application for a retailer license filed on or after July 1, 2026, to be accompanied by a fee of $450 per retail location. The bill would increase the fee for renewal of a retailer license to $450 for renewal applications filed on or after July 1, 2026. The bill would authorize the department to adjust application and renewal fees applicable after July 1, 2026, to an amount not exceeding $600 per retail location to maintain the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund at a level that is no more than necessary to cover the reasonable costs of the department to administer the act. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, on or before December 1, 2027, and again on or before December 1, 2029, to prepare and submit reports to the Legislature on the tobacco retailer enforcement landscape, including enforcement of California's flavor, youth access, taxation, and licensing laws. The bill would require specified state agencies to cooperate with the Legislative Analyst in the preparation and production of the report. The bill would repeal those reporting requirements on January 1, 2034. Chapter 849 of the Statutes of 2024 (AB 3218) revised the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 by, among other things, authorizing the department or a law enforcement agency to seize illegal flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers that a wholesaler or retailer possesses, stores, owns, or sold, as specified. Existing law further requires the department to impose on the wholesaler or retailer a specified civil penalty per individual package of flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer. Existing law defines "package" for purposes of the penalty provision applicable to retailers. This bill would define "flavored tobacco product" and "tobacco product flavor enhancer" for these purposes and would add the same definition of "package" for purposes of the penalty provision applicable to wholesalers. Chapter 462 of the Statutes of 2024 (SB 1230) , among other things, added a provision to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 similar to the above-described provision relating to the seizure of a retailer's products added by AB 3218. Specifically, SB 1230 authorizes the department to seize illegal flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers if the department discovers that a retailer sells, offers for sale, or possesses with the intent to sell or offer for sale, those products, and deems the seized products as forfeited. This bill would repeal the above-described provision added by SB 1230. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law establishes various programs to address the needs of migrant agricultural families. Existing law also provides funding to enhance and maintain rural health services. This bill would establish the Virtual Health Hub for Rural Communities Pilot Program, and would require the State Department of Public Health to administer the program to expand access to health services for farmworkers in rural communities. The bill would require the department to distribute grants to partnerships of 2 separate community-based organizations, except as specified, to establish and deploy virtual health hubs, as defined, and to administer the program and to provide technical assistance to the grant recipients for any licensing or reporting requirements necessary to fulfill the program obligations. The bill would outline criteria for the grants and require the department to give priority to community-based organizations that meet specified criteria, including, but not limited to, a history of serving medically underserved communities. The bill would require the grant recipients, among other things, to deploy virtual health hubs in 2 rural communities based on farmworker population and access to health care and to submit specified information on the program to the department. Under the bill, the virtual health hubs would include, at a minimum, computers, Wi-Fi, cubicles for virtual visits, and exam rooms for telemedicine. The bill would create the Virtual Health Hub Fund and would condition implementation of these provisions on no General Fund moneys being used, there being a minimum of $2,000,000 in the fund, and the department posting a notice on its internet website. The bill would also require the department, 2 years after the notice is posted on the internet website, to submit a report to the Legislature and post to its internet website specified information provided by the grant recipients, including age ranges and type of health services accessed by the people served. The bill would repeal these provisions when specified conditions are met. The bill would make findings and declarations in support of its provisions.
(1) The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to exempt from taxation, in whole or in part, property that is used exclusively for religious, hospital, or charitable purposes, and is owned or held in trust by a nonprofit entity. Pursuant to that authority, existing law provides for a welfare exemption under which property used exclusively for an exempt purpose and owned and operated by specified entities, including foundations, limited liability companies, or corporations meeting certain statutory requirements, is exempt from taxation. Existing law, until the lien date in 2027, also provides that property used exclusively for the preservation of specified natural resources or open-space lands owned or operated by a specified entity meeting specified criteria is deemed to be included within the welfare exemption. This bill would provide that, for purposes of the exemption for property used exclusively for the preservation of specified natural resources or open-space lands, for the property tax lien dates for the 2026–27 fiscal year to the 2031–32 fiscal year, inclusive, property may be owned and operated by a federally recognized Indian tribe or a wholly owned subsidiary of a federally recognized Indian tribe meeting certain requirements. By expanding the duties of local tax officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law authorizes counties and cities and counties to impose a documentary transfer tax at a specified rate upon deeds, instruments, or other writings by which specified property is transferred. Existing law exempts certain transfers from the imposition of that tax, as specified. This bill would, until January 1, 2031, exempt from that tax the transfer of any deed, instrument, or other writing that makes effective a tribal land return transaction, as defined. (3) Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. (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, 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. (5) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Local Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Collection Act, until January 1, 2026, suspends the authority of a city, county, or city and county to impose a utility user tax on the consumption of prepaid communications service and any charge that applies to prepaid mobile telephony service, as defined, on access to communication services or access to local "911" emergency telephone systems, and instead requires those taxes and charges to be applied during the period beginning January 1, 2016, and ending January 1, 2026, under any local ordinance to be at specified rates. The act requires that these local charges imposed by a city, county, or a city and county on prepaid mobile telephony services be collected from the prepaid consumer by a seller at the time of sale, as specified. Existing law requires that all local charges be collected and paid to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law and be deposited into the Local Charges for Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Fund, and be transmitted to the city, county, or city and county, as provided. This bill would extend operation of the act until January 1, 2031. By extending the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The act authorizes a consumer to rebut the presumed location of a retail transaction for purposes of the collection of the local charges by filing a claim and declaration under penalty of perjury. By extending the act, this bill would expand the crime of perjury, thereby imposing 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, establishes the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and sets forth its powers and duties relating to enforcement of civil rights laws and assistance to communities in resolving disputes, disagreements, or difficulties relating to discriminatory practices. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature and commencing on or before the later of either July 1, 2026, or one year after the date of the appropriation, would require the department to create and implement statewide and regional radio, social media, and television campaigns for the purposes of discouraging discrimination. The bill would require the department to convene a working group to develop a plan to implement the campaigns above. The bill would exempt the working group from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) under the direction of a chairperson. Existing law provides an annual salary for members and for the chairperson and prescribes a method by which those salaries may be increased. Existing law grants an additional salary increase of 5% in each of the 2023–24, 2024–25, and 2025–26 fiscal years for members of the Energy Commission. This bill would, similarly, grant the chairperson of the Energy Commission an additional salary increase of 5% for the 2025–26, 2026–27, and 2027–28 fiscal years. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to develop and implement the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program to award moneys for projects that will benefit electricity ratepayers, lead to technological advancement and breakthroughs, and result in a portfolio of projects that is strategically focused and sufficiently narrow to make advancement on the most significant technological challenges, as specified. Existing law, until July 1, 2025, authorizes the Energy Commission to award, through a noncompetitive method, follow-on funding for projects that meet specified criteria, including the EPIC program's eligibility requirements and that the projects have been funded, at least in part, through the EPIC program. This bill would extend the authorization to award follow-on funding for those projects until January 1, 2028. Existing law vests the Energy Commission with the exclusive jurisdiction to certify the construction of stationary or floating electrical generating facilities using a source of thermal energy with a generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more and prohibits a person from constructing those facilities unless that person obtains a certificate from the commission, as provided. Existing law establishes an opt-in certification process, as provided, for solar photovoltaic, terrestrial wind electrical generation powerplants, and thermal powerplants that do not use fossil or nuclear fuels, with a generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more, an energy storage system capable of storing 200 megawatthours or more of electricity, or projects associated with the manufacture, production, or assembly of energy storage systems, wind systems, solar photovoltaic energy systems, or specialized products, components, or systems integral to renewable energy or energy storage technologies, that authorizes a person proposing to construct those facilities to file an application for certification with the Energy Commission. Existing law requires a person submitting an application for certification to submit a fee of $250,000 plus $500 per megawatt of gross generating capacity or per megawatthour of gross energy storage capacity, or $0.70 per square foot of those manufacturing, production, or assembly facilities. Existing law prohibits the application fee from exceeding $750,000. Existing law requires a person receiving a certification from the Energy Commission to pay an annual fee of $25,000 for each year the facility retains its certification. Existing law requires a person submitting a petition to amend an existing project that previously received certification to submit with the petition a fee of $5,000. Existing law requires that those fees be adjusted annually, as provided. This bill would instead require a person submitting an application for certification to submit with the application a nonrefundable deposit of $750,000 and would require the applicant to pay all costs incurred by the Energy Commission in processing the application. The bill would require the Energy Commission to provide invoices for additional fees, at least annually, for the actual costs incurred by the Energy Commission in excess of the deposit. The bill would increase the annual fee to $70,000 for each year the facility retains its certification. The bill would specify that the petition fee is nonrefundable. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to implement and administer the Distributed Electricity Backup Assets Program to incentivize the construction of cleaner and more efficient distributed energy assets that would serve as on-call emergency supply or load reduction for the state's electrical grid during extreme events, and the Demand Side Grid Support Program to incentivize dispatchable customer load reduction and backup generation operation as on-call emergency supply and load reduction for the state's electrical grid during extreme events, as provided. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources, in consultation with the Energy Commission, to implement those projects, purchases, and contracts to carry out the above-described purposes. Existing law requires facilities constructed by the department, or under a contract with the department, that use any form of fossil fuel to be operated as necessary to respond to extreme events and prohibits those facilities from being operated any other time, except as provided. This bill would instead require facilities constructed and owned by the department, rather than constructed by the department, or under a contract with the department, that use any form of fossil fuel to be operated as necessary to respond to extreme events and prohibit those facilities from being operated any other time, except as provided. Existing law, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, appropriates $200,000,000 to the Energy Commission to be used for a program to provide incentives for demand side grid support and associated mitigation costs and authorizes the expenditure of those moneys for the adoption of regulations, guidelines, or other standards for the program, third-party block grants or contracts with incentive program implementers for purposes of implementing the program, or advancing up to 25% of the awarded funds at a time to parties that are eligible for funding for purposes of the program. This bill would authorize the use of any additional funding appropriated by the Legislature to the Energy Commission for demand side grid support and associated mitigation costs for the above-specified uses. Existing law establishes the Clean Transportation Program, administered by the Energy Commission, to provide funding to certain entities to develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change policies. Existing law limits funding under the program to specified categories of programs and projects, including, among others, block grants or incentive programs administered by public entities or not-for-profit technology entities for multiple projects, education and program promotion within California, and development of zero-emission fuel and vehicle technology centers. This bill would revise that category of programs and projects eligible for this funding by eliminating the restriction that the block grants or incentive programs be administered by public entities or not-for-profit technology entities and by expanding the category to authorize this funding for block grants or incentive programs for zero-emission vehicle infrastructure. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board (state board) to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards. Existing law provides that a person who violates specified vehicular air pollution statutes or specified orders, rules, or regulations of the state board is subject to a civil penalty, and requires those penalties to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund. Existing law authorizes the state board to adopt a schedule of annual fees for the certification, audit, and compliance of motor vehicles and engines sold in the state to cover the state board's reasonable costs in implementing the certification, audit, and compliance programs, and requires those fees be deposited in the Certification and Compliance Fund. Existing law authorizes the state board to adopt a schedule of fees to cover all or a portion of the state board's reasonable costs for the certification, audit, and compliance of off-road or nonvehicular engines and equipment, aftermarket parts, and emissions control components sold in the state, and requires all moneys collected by the state board as part of that schedule of fees to be deposited in the Certification and Compliance Fund. This bill would also authorize the state board to adopt a schedule of annual fees for deficiencies of motor vehicles and engines sold in the state and a schedule of fees to cover all or a portion of the state board's reasonable costs for the deficiencies of off-road or nonvehicular engines and equipment, aftermarket parts, and emissions control components sold in the state. The bill would require the fees collected under both of those schedules to be deposited in the Certification and Compliance Fund. Existing law establishes the Charge Ahead California Initiative, administered by the state board, and with the goals of, among other things, placing in service at least 1,000,000 zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicles by January 1, 2023, and increasing access for disadvantaged, low-income, and moderate-income communities and consumers to zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicles. Existing law also establishes the Clean Cars 4 All Program, which is administered by the state board, to focus on achieving reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases, improvements in air quality, and benefits to low-income state residents through the replacement of high-polluter motor vehicles with cleaner and more efficient motor vehicles or a mobility option. Under existing law, the distribution of incentives under the program is implemented in air pollution control and air quality management districts that choose to participate in the program and through a statewide program. Existing law requires the state board, with respect to specified funds made available to the state board and that the state board allocated to the program, to maintain funding for each local air district participating in the program by requiring the state board to reallocate funds to local air districts under certain circumstances. This bill would expand the requirement to maintain funding to local air districts in that manner using other specified funds made available to the state board for the suite of equity transportation programs established under the Charge Ahead California Initiative, including the Clean Cars 4 All Program. This bill would appropriate the sum of $132,175,000 from the Air Pollution Control Fund to the State Air Resources Board for the 2025–26 fiscal year, when funds are available from a specified consent decree, to be administered through the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, as specified. The bill would make the funds available for encumbrance or expenditure until June 30, 2027, and available for liquidation until June 30, 2029. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
Existing law establishes the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program and requires the Public Utilities Commission to administer a surcharge to collect revenues of up to $100,000,000 per year until January 1, 2025, subject to an annual appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program to recover their costs as they are incurred. Existing law establishes the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund for the program described above. This bill would extend the requirement on the commission to collect the surcharge described above until December 31, 2034, subject to annual appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, and would require the commission to transfer moneys it collects from the surcharge to the Controller for deposit into the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund. Existing law requires the commission to annually review the surcharge level and the balances in the fund identified above. Existing law authorized, until January 1, 2025, the commission to make necessary adjustments to the surcharge to ensure that the programs supported by the surcharge are adequately funded and that the fund balances are not excessive, as defined. This bill would repeal that requirement and, instead, would authorize the commission to make recommendations to the Legislature regarding appropriations under the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board within the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Under existing law, the board administers various habitat conservation and restoration programs. This bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the sum of $21,500,000 to be allocated to the board for floodplain acquisition, habitat restoration, and associated conservation projects on floodplains in the Counties of Kern, Kings, and Tulare, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for Counties of Kern, Kings, and Tulare.
The California Prompt Payment Act requires a state agency that awards a grant or that acquires property or services pursuant to a contract to make timely payments pursuant to the grant or contract. If a state agency or the Controller fails to take certain timely actions and payment is not issued within 45 calendar days from the state agency receipt of an undisputed invoice, the act requires the state agency or the Controller, as applicable, to pay certain penalties. The act provides an exception to certain penalty provisions applicable to services or equipment under the Medi-Cal program if the grant or contract was awarded to a nonprofit organization in an amount less than $500,000. The act defines the term "grant" to mean a signed final agreement between any state agency and a local government agency or organization authorized to accept grant funding for victim services or prevention programs administered by any state agency or restoration activities performed by a resource conservation district. The act also defines "nonprofit service organization" to mean a nonprofit entity that is organized to provide services to the public, but the act does not use that term in its provisions. This bill would revise the definition of "grant" to also mean a signed final agreement between a state agency and a nonprofit organization and would delete the $500,000 exception described above. The bill would remove the definition of "nonprofit service organization," and instead would define "nonprofit organization" to mean an organization that qualifies as an exempt organization under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The act authorizes a state agency to dispute for reasonable cause an invoice, refund request, or claim for Medi-Cal reimbursement, as specified, and defines "reasonable cause" to mean a determination by a state agency that any of certain conditions exist, including that there is a discrepancy between the invoice or claimed amount and either the claimant's actual delivery of property or services to the state or the state's acceptance of those deliveries. This bill would revise the condition described above to require the discrepancy to be of an amount greater than $250 or 5% of the invoice or claimed amount, whichever is less, in order to qualify as a reasonable cause for the state agency to dispute it. Existing law establishes the Department of General Services in the Government Operations Agency for purposes of providing centralized services of state government. Existing law establishes various state grant programs. Existing federal law provides uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for federal grant awards to nonfederal entities and provides guidelines for determining direct and indirect costs, as defined, charged to federal awards. This bill would require a state agency administering a grant program to reimburse a grantee's indirect costs, as defined, at one of specified rates as requested by the grantee in their grant program application, not to exceed 35% of the total grant award, unless prohibited by any other state or federal law. The bill would authorize the establishment of indirect cost pools, as specified. The bill would make these provisions applicable to a grant program administered by a state agency, regardless of whether the funding source is state funds, federal funds, or a combination thereof.
Existing law creates the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and prescribes the department's powers and duties. Existing law directs the department and commissioner to administer various grant programs that, among other things, defray property retrofitting costs. This bill would establish the California Safe Homes grant program to be developed by the department to reduce local and statewide wildfire losses, among other things. The bill would require the department to prioritize specified needs when awarding grant funds, and would require eligible program applicants, which would include individuals, cities, counties, and special districts, to meet specified criteria. The bill would establish the Sustainable Insurance Account within the Insurance Fund and would make the funds available to the department for the program upon appropriation by the Legislature or upon receipt of federal or other grants or funds. The bill would require the department to collect specified information about the performance of the program and, on or before January 1, 2027, and every 2 years thereafter, to publish a performance report that would be posted to its internet website and submitted to the Legislature.
