Under existing law, the purpose of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act is to advance the state's goals of reducing the levels of greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the deployment of sustainable and renewable energy sources, implementing measures that increase the efficiency of the use of energy, creating high quality employment opportunities, and lessening the state's dependence on fossil fuels and to that end to provide an alternative method of financing in providing and promoting the establishment of facilities utilizing alternative methods and sources of energy and facilities needed for the development and commercialization of advanced transportation technologies. Existing law establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to carry out that purpose. Existing Public Utilities Commission decisions established the California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing program, administered by the authority and funded through charges collected by specified electrical corporations and gas corporations from their ratepayers. This bill would require the authority to administer the GoGreen Program, previously known as the California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing program, and would authorize the authority to use moneys collected from the ratepayers of electrical and gas corporations, as directed by the commission, and other available funding sources, consistent with the program's purposes. The bill would require the program to provide financing assistance to participating lenders to support residents in financing eligible energy efficiency and decarbonization measures at costs that are competitive with or below market rates. The bill would authorize the authority to receive, administer, and deploy additional moneys from federal, state, local, or private sources to support and expand the GoGreen Program, if those moneys are used in a manner consistent with the program's goals and the parameters of the funding source. The bill would create the GoGreen Program Fund in the State Treasury and would make all moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the authority for expenditure, as provided.
This bill designates May 2026 as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in California. It affects state agencies and organizations that typically host public awareness campaigns or educational events. The measure requires no changes to existing laws or regulations; it simply establishes a specific timeframe for promoting motorcycle safety. By creating this designated month, the state provides a formal opportunity to focus public attention on rider safety without altering current legal requirements.
Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of all state highways. Existing law describes the authorized routes in the state highway system. Existing law authorizes the California Transportation Commission to select, adopt, and determine the location for state highways on routes authorized by law, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to adopt an existing road as a state highway on an authorized route if the road is constructed to adequate standards. Existing law provides that State Highway Route 59 is from Route 152 northerly to Route 99 near the City of Merced and from Route 99 near the City of Merced to Snelling. This bill would, on or before December 31, 2030, require the commission to reach an agreement with the Counties of Merced, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne for the acquisition and adoption of county road J59 as a state highway, as specified. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2031, instead provide that State Highway Route 59 is from Route 152 northerly to Route 99 near the City of Merced and from Route 99 near the City of Merced to the junction of Routes 108 and 120.
Existing law sets forth various provisions applicable to all public transit and transit districts and includes specific requirements applicable to public entities that operate commuter rail or rail transit systems. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2027, a regional rail operator, as defined, operating within an intercity rail corridor to ensure that its fare systems are fully integrated with the fare systems of the intercity rail operator, and any other regional rail operator, operating in the intercity rail corridor. By imposing additional duties on regional rail operators, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation, subject to approval of the Secretary of Transportation, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering the state-funded intercity rail service in a particular corridor. Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds by the secretary to a joint powers board under an interagency transfer agreement based on an annual business plan for the intercity rail corridor and subsequent appropriation of state funds. Existing law requires the joint powers board to submit the annual business plan to the secretary for review and recommendation by April 1 of each year. This bill would require an interagency transfer agreement to require a joint powers board to ensure that service planning is provided for special events, as defined. The bill would require, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, the business plan to include a special events service plan that establishes, among other things, an intercity rail operating schedule for special events and fare system integration between the intercity rail operator and regional rail operators. To the extent that the bill would add to the duties of a joint powers board, 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.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, the Shortline Railroad Modernization Act of 2026, would allow credits against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, to a qualified taxpayer in an amount equal to 50% of the qualified shortline railroad expenditures and for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2028, and before January 1, 2033, in an amount equal to 50% of the qualified new rail infrastructure expenditures, as defined and specified. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state. Existing law requires moneys collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of certain allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and continuously appropriates a portion of the moneys in the fund for various purposes, including a specified portion to the authority for certain purposes. Existing law prohibits the authority from entering into new funding commitments with those moneys for activities outside of the Merced to Bakersfield segment, until June 30, 2030, or when that segment is fully funded, whichever is sooner. Notwithstanding that prohibition, existing law authorizes the authority to enter into new funding commitments outside of the Merced to Bakersfield segment for certain purposes, including for additional activities, not to cumulatively exceed $500,000,000, that maximize the efficiency of delivering the project, as specified. This bill would revise and recast that authorization to instead authorize the authority to enter into new funding commitments with the above-described moneys outside of the Merced to Bakersfield segment in any amount for activities related to early works, as defined, and for projects developed through public partnership agreements or public-private partnership agreements, subject to the requirements that those funding commitments maximize the efficiency of delivering the project and do not delay the completion of the Merced to Bakersfield segment, as specified. By expanding the purposes for which continuously appropriated moneys may be used, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law prescribes the procedures by which a proposed ordinance may be submitted to the governing board of a district by an initiative measure. These procedures do not apply to specified districts, including a district formed under a law that does not provide a procedure for elections. This bill would authorize the voters of any district that has authority to impose a transactions and use tax for transportation purposes to impose a retail transactions and use tax by an initiative measure. The bill would prohibit the initiative tax from exceeding the maximum authorized rate for a tax imposed by an ordinance enacted by the governing body of the district, and the bill would require the initiative measure to contain all spending limitations and substantive accountability standards applicable to a tax imposed by an ordinance enacted by the governing body. To the extent the bill would increase the duties of county elections officials, 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.
SB 117 is a procedural bill that formally declares the Legislature's intent to later enact statutory changes to the Budget Act of 2025. It does not implement any specific budget policies, funding allocations, or changes to existing law at this time. The bill simply sets the stage for future legislative action on the state budget framework. It passed the Senate unanimously (28-10) and was referred to the Assembly's Budget Committee for further consideration.
AB 117 is a placeholder bill expressing the Legislature's intent to enact statutory changes concerning the Budget Act of 2025. This bill is an initial step in the annual state budget process, signaling that specific financial and policy adjustments will be detailed in subsequent legislation.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution that the state board has found necessary, cost effective, and technologically feasible. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the state board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases and requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions from those sources. Pursuant to its authority, the state board has adopted the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation, which imposes various requirements for transitioning local, state, and federal government fleets of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, other high-priority fleets of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and drayage trucks to zero-emission vehicles. The Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation authorizes entities subject to the regulation to apply for exemptions from its requirements under certain circumstances. This bill would require the state board to establish the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation Appeals Advisory Committee by an unspecified date for purposes of reviewing appeals of denied requests for exemptions from the requirements of the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation. The bill would require the committee to include representatives of specified governmental and nongovernmental entities. The bill would require the committee to meet monthly and would require recordings of its meetings to be made publicly available on the state board's internet website. The bill would require the committee to consider, and make a recommendation on, an appeal of an exemption request denial no later than 60 days after the appeal is made. The bill would require specified information relating to the committee's consideration of an appeal to be made publicly available on the state board's internet website. The bill would require the state board to consider a recommendation of the committee at a public meeting no later than 60 days after the recommendation is made. This bill would exempt from the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation or any similar regulation vehicles reasonably anticipated to respond to emergency situations, or that support those efforts. The bill would prohibit the state board from requiring a state or local government fleet owner to provide documentation showing an executed zero-emissions vehicle purchase agreement in order to count an internal combustion engine vehicle as a zero-emissions vehicle purchase for purposes of postponing a zero-emissions vehicle transition mandate in the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation.
