Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Natural Resources Agency. Under existing law, the department has jurisdiction over the conservation, protection, and management of fish, wildlife, native plants, and habitat necessary for biologically sustainable populations of those species. This bill would require the department to develop and make publicly available a roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable, and the extent to which the ecological functions once provided by the grizzly bear may be restored through human-mediated landscape restoration, including through reintroduction of the species. The bill would also require the department, by June 30, 2030, to submit the roadmap document to relevant budget and policy committees of the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's Office, and the Fish and Game Commission. The bill would prohibit reintroduction of the grizzly bear in the state until the department or others have carried out various actions, including, among other things, completion of the roadmap, determinations, based on the best available science, that establishment of a self-sustaining grizzly population in the state is biologically viable, and a consultation with California Native American tribes and engagement with communities, as specified. The bill would make implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation, except as specified.
Under existing law, the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. The State Oil and Gas Supervisor supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production, as provided. Existing law divides the state into districts and requires the supervisor to appoint one chief deputy and at least one district deputy for each of the districts. Existing law requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility, as soon as it is reasonably possible, but no later than the date when the acquisition of the well or production facility becomes final, to notify the supervisor or the district deputy, in writing, of the person's operation, as provided. Existing law further requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility to file with the supervisor an individual indemnity bond or a blanket indemnity bond in an amount determined by the supervisor to be sufficient to cover, in full, all costs of plugging and abandonment, decommissioning the facility, and site restoration, as provided. Existing law requires a person who intends to acquire the right to operate a well or production facility, by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition, to submit a request to the supervisor for a determination of the amount of the bond required before completing the acquisition and prohibits that person from completing the acquisition until the determination is received and the bond has been filed with the supervisor. A person who violates, fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with requirements of the oil and gas laws, including the bonding requirements described above, is guilty of a misdemeanor, as provided. This bill would make the above-described requirements applicable to a person who acquires, or intends to acquire, as applicable, the right to control a well or production facility and would make conforming changes, as provided. The bill would provide that, for purposes of filing an indemnity bond, a person who "acquires a right to operate or control a well or production facility" includes, but is not limited to, the rights a person acquires through the direct or indirect sale or exchange in a single or series of related transactions resulting in the acquisition of more than 50% of the voting stock of the operator or through a liquidation or dissolution of the operator, among other transactions. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law exempts from the above-described requirements relating to filing an indemnity bond a well that has an average daily production level that exceeds 15 barrels of oil or 60,000 cubic feet of natural gas during the 12 months preceding the date of acquisition or a natural gas storage well, as provided. This bill would delete that exemption. 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 make the operation of its provisions contingent upon the enactment of AB 2716 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires a beverage manufacturer to pay to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery a processing fee for each beverage container, as defined, sold or transferred in this state. The act requires the department to deposit the fee into the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. The act requires the department to pay processing payments to processors and recycling centers from the fund, as specified. The act requires the processing payment to be at least equal to the difference between the scrap value of the beverage containers and the sum of certain actual operational costs for certified recycling centers and a reasonable financial return for recycling centers, as specified. The act requires the processing fee to be 65% of the processing payment, except as specified. This bill would limit the processing fee for bag in box beverage containers to not more than $0.12 per container sold or offered for sale. The bill would define "bag in box" for purposes of the bill to mean a container for certain alcoholic beverages that has an interior flexible bag with a valve to dispense a beverage and a rigid cardboard or corrugated paper box designed to contain the bag, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to provide a credit toward the 2027 processing fees to beverage producers who paid the 2026 processing fee, as provided. If the amount needed to make processing payments to recyclers for bag in box beverage containers exceeds the amount of processing fee revenue available, the bill would authorize the department to expend funds to pay the processing payments in full, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2031. By expanding the purposes for which a continuously appropriated fund may be expended, the bill would make an appropriation.
Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (act) and the national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program. The act requires mandatory minimum penalties to be assessed for serious violations, as defined, relating to waste discharge requirements, and for certain violations relating to waste discharge requirements and reports whenever there are 4 or more violations in a period of 6 consecutive months, except as provided. The act authorizes the state board or regional board, in lieu of assessing all or a portion of those mandatory minimum penalties against a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community, to instead require the publicly owned treatment works to spend an equivalent amount towards the completion of a compliance project proposed by the publicly owned treatment works if the state board or regional board make specified findings. The act defines "a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community" for these purposes to mean a publicly owned treatment works serving a population of 20,000 persons or fewer or a rural county, with a financial hardship as determined by the state board after consideration of specified factors. This bill would expand the authorization for the state board or regional board to require funding of a compliance project in lieu of the otherwise mandatory penalty to apply to a publicly owned treatment works serving a population of 3,000 persons or fewer, with a financial hardship, determined by the state board, within the 10 years preceding the assessment of the penalty.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts certain projects from its requirements and authorizes a lead agency, if it determines a certain project is exempt from CEQA, to file a notice of exemption, as provided. This bill would exempt from CEQA the closure of a railroad grade crossing by order of the Public Utilities Commission if the commission finds the crossing to present a threat to public safety. The bill would provide that the exemption is inapplicable to any crossing for high-speed rail or any crossing for a project carried out by the High-Speed Rail Authority. The bill would require the lead agency to file the notice of exemption with specified public entities, as provided. Because the bill would impose additional duties on a lead agency with regard to the filing of the notice of exemption, 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.
(1) Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, including permanent and temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, under permits issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires hazardous waste transported to a household hazardous waste collection facility to be transported by specified entities, and imposes conditions on the acceptance of hazardous waste by a household hazardous waste collection facility, including, among others, that the hazardous waste not exceed certain weight requirements. Existing law requires a person engaged in the transportation of hazardous waste to be registered with the department and to have a manifest while transporting the hazardous waste, except if the transport is from specified facilities or programs. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. This bill would require, until January 1, 2030, the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would authorize a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials, as specified. The bill would exempt from the above-described registration and manifest provisions a school transporting vape pens and devices confiscated from students. The bill would also impose the above-described conditions relating to the transport of hazardous waste on a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter, transporting vape pens and devices from schools, as provided. The bill would require any vape pens and devices to be transported in containers bearing the school's Environmental Protection Agency identification number. The bill would specify conditions that apply for purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices may be accepted by a household hazardous waste collection facility without exceeding the specified weight limits. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging. This bill would prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by (A) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, or (B) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product, as provided. This bill would authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the above-described prohibitions and to impose civil liability on a person or entity, or distributor, in violation of the prohibitions in specified fine amounts, including $1,000 for the first violation, or for a distributor, $50,000 per violation. The bill would require any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action, and would authorize the Attorney General to expend any penalties it collects, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the prohibitions. The bill would specify that any remedies provided pursuant to these provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to specified provisions relating to unfair competition. The bill would make any person who violates the prohibitions guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, provides for the licensure and regulation of manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers of cigarette or tobacco products. Existing law, except as specified, prohibits a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer. Existing law authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency, upon discovery that a retailer possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers in violation of that prohibition to seize the flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers at the retail location or any other person's location. Existing law deems those seized flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers as forfeited to the state, and requires the department to issue a civil penalty against the retailer, as provided. Existing law also requires the department to suspend or revoke the license of a retailer upon a 2nd or 3rd seizure and forfeiture, as provided. This bill would apply those same seizure, forfeiture, and civil penalty provisions to a retailer who possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of vape products, as defined, in violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2) , above. Existing law authorizes a peace officer or department employee granted limited peace officer status, as provided, upon presenting appropriate credentials, to enter any place at which cigarettes or tobacco products are sold, produced, or stored or at any site where evidence of a violation of specified laws relating to cigarette or tobacco products may be discovered, and to conduct inspections in accordance with specified requirements. This bill would also authorize those inspections at any place where there is evidence of a violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2) , above. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 22974.2 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 762 to be operative only if this bill and AB 762 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (5) 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.
(1) Existing law, until January 1, 2030, generally prohibits a person from possessing, importing, shipping, or transporting in the state, or from placing, planting, or causing to be placed or planted in any water in the state, invasive mussels, and authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife or the director's designee to engage in various enforcement activities, including ordering the areas in conveyance that contain water be drained, dried, or decontaminated, as provided. Existing law requires a public or private agency that operates a water supply system to cooperate with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement measures to avoid infestation by invasive mussels and to control or eradicate any infestation that may occur in a water supply system. Existing law requires, if invasive mussels are detected, the operator of a water supply system to, in cooperation with the department, prepare and implement a plan to control or eradicate invasive mussels within the system, and eliminate or minimize any potential downstream transport of an invasive mussel. Existing law requires, on or before December 31, 2026, the department to review all approved plans and require all plans that do not specifically address all invasive mussel species known to be present in bodies of water in the state as of January 1, 2026, to be updated or revised appropriately to include all invasive mussel species, on or before September 30, 2027. Existing law requires every invasive mussel species to be addressed in a plan no later than 180 days from the date that the species is listed in a certain regulation. Existing law defines "invasive mussel" for these purposes as any nonnative detrimental mussel, as provided. Under existing law, except as otherwise provided, any violation of the Fish and Game Code, or of any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under the code, is a crime. This bill would prohibit a conveyance from being launched until a specified drying period has completed, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to require water supply system operators to update their plans to address all invasive mussel species present in the operator's water system as of January 1, 2026, as provided. The bill would require a plan to address every invasive mussel species detected in a water supply system after January 1, 2026, no later than 180 days from the date the species is detected. The bill would require a plan to minimize or eliminate the spread of invasive mussels. The bill would revise the definition of "invasive mussel" to mean any nonnative biofouling mussel, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would enact a comprehensive inspection and decontamination program to be administered by the department under which the department would license inspection and decontamination stations with qualified inspectors to inspect and decontaminate conveyances for aquatic invasive species and issue certificates of compliance or notices of noncompliance, as prescribed by standards adopted by the department. The bill would establish a length of 2 years for those licenses and qualifications and would impose related application fees. The bill would impose requirements on various entities as part of the program, including requiring inspection and decontamination stations and waterbody managers to use a specified data sharing system for tracking the movement of conveyances, equipment, and other vectors among California waterbodies. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law establishes a registration fee and a renewal fee for vessels, and imposes an additional fee, known as the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee, on a vessel required to pay the registration fee or renewal fee, as provided. Existing law requires the Division of Boating and Waterways to issue a vessel an invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker to the vessel owner upon payment of the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee. Existing law authorizes a vessel operator to be issued a citation for operating a vessel or a recreational vessel in nonmarine waters without a valid state-issued invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker. This bill would enact similar provisions that would impose an additional invasive mussel infestation prevention fee of $20 per nonmotorized vessel every 2 years, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue an invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker to be affixed to the nonmotorized vessel upon payment of the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee. The bill would authorize a vessel operator to be issued a citation for operating a nonmotorized vessel without that valid state-issued invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker. This bill would require the $20 fee to be deposited into the Nonmotorized Vessel Invasive Mussel Infestation Prevention Account, which the bill would create within the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund. Moneys in the account would be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for reasonable regulatory costs of the department and the division and for specified grants. The bill would require any citation moneys to be deposited into the Nonmotorized Vessel Invasive Mussel Infestation Prevention Penalty Account, which the bill would create within the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund. Moneys in the penalty account would be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified grants and to expend on certain educational materials and signage. (3) 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. (4) 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 Water Resources Control Board in the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the California regional water quality control boards which prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Existing law, the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act of 1980, requires refiners, as defined, to report monthly to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , for each of their refineries, specified information, and requires that any confidential information pertinent to the responsibilities of the Energy Commission, as provided, which is obtained by another state agency be available to the Energy Commission and be treated in a confidential manner. This bill would require, no later than December 31, 2028, every refiner, as defined for purposes of the bill, to submit to CalEPA a retirement plan setting forth information concerning decommissioning and site remediation for every refinery it owns, operates, or controls, as provided. The bill would require the CalEPA, no later than 6 months following the submission of the retirement plan, to review the retirement plan for completeness and reasonableness and to make a determination as to whether the retirement plan complies with the requirements imposed by the bill. The bill would require CalEPA, if it determines that the retirement plan complies with the bill's requirements, to make the retirement plan available on CalEPA's internet website for public comments for not less than 45 days. The bill would authorize CalEPA to require further revisions to the retirement plan after the public comment period, as provided, before it is deemed final. The bill would require CalEPA, after CalEPA has determined that no further revisions are necessary, to promptly post the final retirement plan on its internet website. This bill would require a refiner who, on or after January 1, 2026, gives notice of intent to permanently shut down, shut down to reconfigure, or sell a refinery in a transaction that may result in a refinery shutting down or reconfiguring, as provided, to submit either the required retirement plan, or, if a final retirement plan has been released, an update of the retirement plan within a specified timeframe, as provided. The bill would require, on or before December 31, 2027, CalEPA to publicly provide an overview of the methods, costs, and timelines associated with soil and groundwater remediation that have been employed at refineries that have undergone decommissioning and remediation and to update the overview, as provided. This bill would make information filed pursuant to the above-described provisions confidential information, as provided. The bill would require a refiner to file the final retirement plan concurrently with the Energy Commission and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The bill would authorize CalEPA, the Energy Commission, and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to share the information with the Legislature, any governmental agency, or a local government, including an air pollution control district or an air quality management district, only if the Legislature, the governmental agency, or the local government that receives the information agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the information. The bill would further require any information that is, or may be, accessible by the public, as provided, by CalEPA, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, a certified unified program agency, or a local government, to be made publicly available even if that information is also contained in the retirement plan. This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2027, CalEPA, in coordination with the Energy Commission, to compile a survey of existing local, state, and federal statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to refiners concerning decommissioning, closure, financial assurance, and site remediation obligations, as provided, for a specified purpose. This bill would require CalEPA, no later than one year after the retirement plans are deemed final, to publish publicly on CalEPA's internet website a report assessing the total decommissioning and remediation liabilities for refineries in the state, and identify opportunities for greater transparency prior to the closure notice, as provided. 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.
This measure would declare the month of March 2026 to be March4Water Month in California and would encourage all residents, businesses, and local leaders to participate in activities and programs that promote water efficiency, support workforce development in the water sector, and prioritize water solutions as essential investments in the state's economic future.
Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife and sets forth the duties of that department, which include administering various programs for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife. Existing law authorizes the department to take feasible actions to conserve monarch butterflies and the unique habitats they depend upon for successful migration. Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, establishes the California Coastal Commission and provides for planning and regulation of development in the coastal zone, as defined. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2028, the department, in coordination with the commission, to identify known monarch butterfly overwintering habitat sites in the coastal zone and current local government monarch butterfly overwintering habitat management plans or policies. The bill would also require, on or before July 1, 2029, the department, in coordination with the commission, to develop and provide guidance on model policies to be used by a local government for the protection of monarch butterfly overwintering habitat, including habitat restoration and enhancement. The bill would require, after the above-described guidance on model policies is finalized, a local government with a monarch butterfly overwintering habitat site located within its jurisdiction and the coastal zone, as described, to, on or before July 1, 2031, develop and implement enforceable monarch butterfly overwintering habitat site protection policies, as provided. By imposing additional duties on a local government, 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.
