Environment

Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board, in coordination with the Department of Water Resources, to adopt long-term standards for the efficient use of water and performance measures for commercial, industrial, and institutional water use (CII water use) , among other water uses, before June 30, 2022. Existing law requires the department, in coordination with the board, to conduct necessary studies and investigations and make recommendations, no later than October 1, 2021, for purposes of those standards and performance measures for CII water use. This bill would require the department and the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications to include, within the Save Our Water Campaign, a statewide "water wise" designation to be awarded to businesses in the CII sector that meet or exceed the recommendations for CII water use best management practices pursuant to those performance measures.

Existing law regulates the emission of air contaminants, including the oxides of nitrogen, into the atmosphere. Existing law generally vests regulatory jurisdiction over stationary sources of air pollution to the air pollution control districts and air quality management districts and regulatory jurisdiction over mobile sources of air pollution to the State Air Resources Board. This bill would specify that regulations adopted by districts or the state board prohibiting or restricting the sale or use of a gas-fired appliance, as defined, based on the emission limitations for oxides of nitrogen does not apply to the sale or use of that appliance if the appliance is to be installed with a propane conversion kit for propane firing only.

Existing law, referred to as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development within the city or county with a density bonus and other incentives or concessions, as specified, if the developer agrees to construct, among other options, specified percentages of units for lower income households or very low income households, and meets other requirements. Under existing law, the number of incentives or concessions granted to a development under the Density Bonus Law vary based on the percentage of affordable units within the development, or whether the development serves specified other target populations, as provided. Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and requires it to administer various programs intended to promote the development of housing. Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (the commission) , consisting of 5 members, and establishes various duties and responsibilities of the commission relating to energy usage in the state. This bill would require a city or county to grant additional incentives or concessions when an applicant proposes to construct a green housing development, as defined. The bill would require that the number of incentives or concessions granted initially be set to 3 and would require HCD, as specified, to evaluate and report on the number and type of units and developments entitled, permitted, and constructed pursuant to these provisions. The bill would require HCD, in this report, to maintain or alter the number of incentives or concessions granted under these provisions, as prescribed. The bill would require a city or county to report, as specified, at least annually to HCD on the quantity of green housing developments where the applicant has requested additional incentives or concessions under these provisions. The bill would also prohibit a city or county from requiring that a green housing development include car parking. By expanding a city or county's duties to administer incentives or concessions, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1) Existing state and federal law provides for the enforcement of laws related to elections. This bill would prohibit a peace officer from interfering with the administration of an election, as specified. This bill would authorize certain persons to enforce those prohibitions by filing a civil action, as specified. This bill would also prohibit any individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as specified, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of rosters, combined rosters, or voter lists unless authorized by a court order or to investigate certain types of voting fraud. The bill would additionally require the Attorney General to provide guidance and information regarding how to respond to requests by law enforcement, as defined, to access areas where ballots are present. (2) Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with the voter's prior signatures, and it also provides a mechanism by which a voter can verify their signature and cure this defect. Existing law provides that the processing of vote by mail ballots is open to the public and permits specified persons and organizations to observe this processing. This bill would prohibit a vote by mail observer from challenging a signature on a vote by mail ballot that has been verified by the voter. (3) Under existing law, it is a crime for a person in possession of a firearm, a uniformed peace officer, private guard, or security personnel, or any person wearing the uniform of a peace officer, guard, or security personnel, to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without authorization from the appropriate elections official. It is also a crime for a person to hire or arrange for such a person to be stationed in the immediate vicinity of, or posted at, a polling place without authorization from the elections official. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State or Attorney General to object to authorization provided by the appropriate elections official, in which case the person stationed or posted at the polling place, or the person who hired or arranged for such a person to be stationed or posted at the polling place, is guilty of a crime. By expanding the scope of these crimes, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and any local elections official in the county in which the act occurs, to bring a civil action against an individual, business, or other legal entity that commits any specified act of tampering with a voting system or voting equipment before, during, or after an election. This bill would additionally authorize the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the appropriate local elections official to bring a civil action against a person, business, or entity that takes a package containing ballots from the custody of an elections official. (5) Existing law makes it a crime for an individual to undertake a number of enumerated actions that would result in interference with an election, including displaying a container for the purpose of collecting ballots with the intent to deceive a voter into casting a ballot in an unofficial ballot box. This bill would also make it a crime to take a package containing voted ballots out of the custody of an elections official. By expanding the scope of this crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law requires the elections official of any county or city using a voting system to inspect the machines or devices at least once every 2 years. This bill would prohibit an individual from permitting an agent of a law enforcement agency, as defined, to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of certified voting technology unless authorized by a court order. To the extent this bill would establish new procedures for the conduct of elections, it would create a state-mandated local program. (7) 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. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, upon appropriation by the Legislature, establishes the position of Deputy Secretary for Climate within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, to be appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, for the purpose of assisting in the oversight of California's workforce transition to a sustainable and equitable carbon-neutral economy. Existing law requires the deputy secretary to perform specified duties, including creating or coordinating programs with other state agencies to retrain and upskill workers for, among other jobs, clean energy jobs, as specified. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would establish a zero-emission vehicle workforce development pilot project and a Clean Energy Workforce Training Council, as provided.

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. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA a project to remove sediment from the Five-Mile Basin in the City of Chico. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Chico.

This measure would recognize the 2nd Saturday of January each year as World Desert Day in California, and would encourage local jurisdictions to partner with organizations, agencies, or community groups to host educational programs and community celebrations highlighting desert conservation.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include in its regulation of those emissions the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Existing law continuously appropriates portions of the fund for various purposes. Existing law requires the state board to implement various programs to improve air quality, including air monitoring programs, grant programs, community emissions reduction programs, programs to reduce mobile and stationary sources of criteria air pollutants or toxic air contaminants, and various incentive programs to purchase or retrofit vehicles that meet specified criteria. This bill would continuously appropriate 10% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the state board to provide funding for purposes of awarding grants, providing technical assistance, supporting community participation, and offering incentives in connection with specified programs to improve air quality, thereby making an appropriation.

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. This bill would exempt from the provisions of CEQA a project to underground powerlines. Because a lead agency would be required to determine if a project qualifies for this exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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 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 available $1,500,000,000, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for wildfire prevention, including, among other things, by making $25,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for technologies that improve detection and assessment of new fire ignitions. This bill would require, of the $25,000,000 made available to the department, $10,000,000 be allocated for purposes of the ALERTCalifornia fire camera mapping system.