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, until January 1, 2033, exempts from its requirements certain actions for affordable housing projects that meet specified requirements, including confirmation by a public agency that, among other things, the project site satisfies specified requirements and a vacant project site does not contain tribal cultural resources that could be affected by the development that were found pursuant to a consultation and the effects of which cannot be mitigated, as provided. This bill would extend the operation of the above-described exemption to January 1, 2037, and would expand the exemption to also include a public university or public college housing project, as defined, that meets specified requirements. Because the bill would extend the operation of the exemption and would increase duties on a lead agency related to the expansion of this 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.
The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 65 at the November 4, 1986, statewide general election, prohibits a person, in the course of doing business, from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without giving a specified warning, or from knowingly discharging or releasing that chemical into water, or into or onto land and passing into any source of drinking water, except as specified. The act authorizes a person, acting in the public interest, to bring an action to enforce the requirements of the act if specified requirements are met. If there is a settlement of an action brought by a person in the public interest, the act requires the plaintiff to submit the settlement to the court for approval upon noticed motion, and authorizes the court to approve the settlement only if the court makes specified findings, as provided, including that the award of attorney's fees is reasonable under state law. This bill would additionally require the court to find that the award of attorney's fees is appropriate under state law and that the settlement is in the public interest and provides a public benefit. The bill would further require, under a specified circumstance, the court to find that the settlement would require the defendant to reduce the exposure to the listed chemical from the level that existed before the settlement or provide a warning that complies with the act if that warning was not provided previously. The bill would also establish a procedure pursuant to which the court would be authorized to enter an award of attorney's fees if the Attorney General objects to the award of attorney's fees set forth in the settlement, as provided. Proposition 65 provides that it may be amended by a statute, passed by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature, to further its purposes. This bill would find and declare that it furthers the purposes of Proposition 65.
Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, exists for the purpose of assuring safe and healthful working conditions for all California workers by authorizing the enforcement of effective standards, assisting and encouraging employers to maintain safe and healthful working conditions, and providing for research, information, education, training, and enforcement in the field of occupational safety and health. Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations for the adoption of occupational safety and health standards and establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in that department for the enforcement of those occupational safety and health standards, as prescribed. This bill would require the division, on or before January 1, 2030, to propose to the standards board, for its consideration and possible adoption, a standard that protects the health and safety of employees who risk high or prolonged exposure to transboundary pollution, as defined, in outdoor occupational environments, as specified. The bill would require the division to consider identifying an exposure threshold for hydrogen sulfide at which acute or chronic health effects occur to reference in the standards and may consider exposure thresholds for other relevant pollutants. The bill would authorize the division to develop the standard in consultation with other specified groups. The bill would authorize the standards board to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions.
Under existing law, the Department of Toxic Substances Control is required to implement and enforce certain laws related to the recycling of major appliances, as defined. Existing law prohibits a person, other than a certified appliance recycler, as defined, from removing materials that require special handling from a major appliance. Existing law requires a person, including, but not limited to, a certified appliance recycler, who transports, delivers, or sells discarded major appliances to a scrap recycling facility, as defined, to retain onsite records demonstrating compliance with certain laws related to the recycling of major appliances, as provided. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. This bill would require a person, including, but not limited to, a certified appliance recycler, who transports, delivers, or sells discarded major appliances to a scrap recycling facility to also provide those documents to the department, as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a person wishing to operate as a certified appliance recycler to submit an initial or renewal application to the department, under penalty of perjury. Existing law requires the application to include, among other things, a description of the ability of the applicant to properly remove and manage all materials that require special handling. Existing law requires the department to review an application for completeness and, upon a determination that the application is complete and meets the requirements of certain laws related to the recycling of major appliances, to issue a numbered certificate to the applicant. Existing law requires the applicable certified unified program agency (CUPA) , as soon as practicable after receiving the application and certification from the department, to inspect the certified appliance recycler's facility, as provided. This bill would require the application to also include a description of the applicant's facility and registration with the CUPA, as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to review the application, visit the applicant's facility, and, upon determination that the application is complete and meets the requirements of certain laws related to the recycling of major appliances and applicable laws regarding hazardous waste, issue a numbered certificate to the applicant. The bill would require the CUPA to inspect the certified appliance recycler's facility as soon as practicable, but no later than 6 months after the issuance of the certificate. By creating a new requirement on a CUPA, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the department to impose a charge on an applicant for initial certification and on a certified appliance recycler for renewal to cover the department's reasonable and actual regulatory costs for implementing certain laws relating to the recycling of major appliances, including, but not limited to, the adoption of regulations, as specified. This bill would require a scrap recycling facility to only accept an appliance from a certified appliance recycler or a person otherwise authorized to transport, deliver, or sell discarded major appliances. The bill would require a scrap recycling facility to document each appliance received and to confirm, under penalty of perjury, that materials that require special handling have been removed from the appliance. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the department to develop a statewide list of appliance recyclers, used appliance dealers, solid waste facilities, metal scrapyards, and others who may remove, or do business with those who remove, from major appliances, materials that require special handling, as specified. Existing law requires the department to transmit a copy of the Appliance Recycling Guide, published by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and certain other materials and information, to waste generators and enforcement officers, as provided. This bill would repeal those provisions and instead require the department to post on its internet website a list of certified appliance recyclers and the number of appliances processed by certified appliance recyclers and accepted by scrap recycling facilities, as specified. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (act) , regulates certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware, as provided. As part of its comprehensive statutory scheme, the act requires producers of covered materials to reduce and recycle covered plastic material and to ensure that covered materials that are offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state on or after January 1, 2032, are recyclable or compostable, as provided. The act establishes, until January 1, 2037, the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, which consists of all environmental mitigation surcharges, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected pursuant to the act, as provided. The act requires, upon appropriation by the Legislature, that 60% of the moneys in the fund be expended to monitor and reduce the historical and current environmental justice and public health impacts of plastics, and that 40% of the moneys in the fund be expended to monitor and reduce the environmental impacts of plastics on terrestrial, aquatic, and marine life and human health. This bill would, among other things, require each expenditure made upon appropriation from the fund to comply with specified requirements, including, among others, prioritizing programs, projects, and initiatives that benefit communities most burdened by the impacts of plastic pollution or demonstrate meaningful and durable partnership with California Native American tribes and that provide multiple benefits. The bill would require each of those expenditures to achieve one or more of specified purposes, including, among others, sustained mitigation of the potential adverse health impacts of plastics, supporting a reduction in plastic production, use, and disposal, and supporting research, data collection, and monitoring activities, as specified. The bill would require each department, agency, or entity implementing a grant program funded by the fund to take specified actions, such as providing technical assistance and providing a simplified preapplication and application. The bill would require reimbursement of a grantee's or subgrantee's indirect costs by applying one of 4 enumerated rates, not to exceed 35% of the total grant award. The bill would authorize moneys from the fund to be expended on implementing the bill and would prohibit moneys from the fund from being expended on specified purposes. The bill would expand the entities eligible to receive grants from the fund, as specified. This bill would require the Secretary for Environmental Protection to annually publish a list of all program, project, and initiative expenditures made pursuant to the fund, as specified. The bill would authorize the secretary to request information from grant recipients, as provided.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, local educational agencies throughout the state provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and existing law establishes courses of study for those pupils. This bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to integrate outdoor learning into standards-aligned instruction across all grades and subject areas, as provided. Existing law establishes the State Department of Education under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and assigns the department numerous duties relating to the governance and funding of local educational agencies. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2028, to curate and maintain on its internet website resources for educators on outdoor learning. The bill would also encourage the department, in carrying out these provisions, to consult with county offices of education, classroom educators, tribal partners, mental and physical health professionals and researchers, environmental literacy experts, and community organizations with experience in outdoor learning. The bill would authorize the department to provide resources to address the particular needs of each local educational agency. The bill would authorize the department to accept voluntary contributions to be deposited into the Outdoor Learning and Environmental Literacy Account, which the bill would create in the State Treasury, to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the costs of these provisions.
(1) 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 requires the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to prepare and propose guidelines for the implementation of CEQA by public agencies and requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt the guidelines. CEQA requires the guidelines to include a list of classes of projects that have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and that are exempt from CEQA, commonly known as categorical exemptions. This bill would define "data center" for the purposes of CEQA and prohibit the application of categorical exemption to a project for the development and operation of a data center, as specified. By increasing the duties of a lead agency in relation to the environmental review of a data center project, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021 authorizes the Governor, until January 1, 2032, to certify environmental leadership development projects that meet specified requirements for certain streamlining benefits related to CEQA. The act, among other things, requires a lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings for an environmental leadership development project concurrent with the administrative process and to provide a specified notice within 10 days of the Governor certifying the project. The act specifies the process for the quantification and mitigation of impacts from emissions of greenhouse gases of certain environmental leadership projects, as provided. The act is repealed by its own terms on January 1, 2034. This bill would authorize the Governor to certify a data center project that is certified by the lead agency to meet specified conditions as an environmental leadership development project. The bill would require the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and other state agencies, as necessary, to develop uniform statewide standards for satisfying those conditions for data centers, as specified. The bill would also authorize the Governor to certify a geothermal powerplant that is certified by the lead agency to meet certain criteria as an environmental leadership development project. The bill would require the quantification and mitigation of impacts for emissions of greenhouse gases of a data center project and geothermal powerplant projects to be determined in the same manner as for those certain environmental leadership projects. By increasing the duties of a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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.
Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to enter into a joint powers agreement, as specified, with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop and administer a comprehensive wildfire mitigation program, that, among other things, encourages cost-effective structure hardening and retrofitting that creates fire-resistant homes, businesses, and public buildings. Existing law establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to provide alternative methods of financing in providing and promoting the establishment of facilities using alternative methods and sources of energy and facilities needed for the development and commercialization of advanced transportation technologies, as provided. This bill would establish the California Wildfire Resilience Loan Program and would require the authority, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer the program to provide financial assistance for projects and activities to reduce wildfire-related risks and losses, including home hardening and defensible space improvements, as provided, and would make related changes.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, would allow a credit against those taxes to a qualified taxpayer, as defined, for 30% of the qualified cleanup expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year, and would limit the credit to $20,000 per taxable year. The bill would define qualified cleanup expenses for this purpose to mean costs directly related to the one-time removal and disposal of unauthorized encampments, illegal dumping, and abandoned property, as provided. The bill would require a taxpayer to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the costs reflected in documentation are directly related to qualified cleanup expenses. The bill would make related findings. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. 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 take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes within the California Environmental Protection Agency the State Air Resources Board. Existing law provides for the establishment of air pollution control districts and air quality management districts. Existing law generally vests regulatory jurisdiction over stationary sources of air pollution in the air pollution control districts and air quality management districts and regulatory jurisdiction over mobile sources of air pollution in the State Air Resources Board. This bill, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another act for its purposes, would create the Office of Civil Rights within the state board. The bill would set forth the responsibilities of the office, including providing training on civil rights obligations to board staff, grantees, contractors, and subrecipients. The bill would require the state board to post on its internet website an annual summary of information regarding the office, including a summary of civil rights complaints received by the office and a description of compliance and enforcement efforts by the office relating to civil rights.
