Rep. Greg Wallis

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, creates, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services. Under existing law, Cal OES is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or man-made disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property, as provided. Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires local public agencies to establish a "9-1-1" emergency telephone number, as specified. Existing law also authorizes a local public agency to establish a nonemergency "3-1-1" telephone system. Under existing federal law, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has designated "2-1-1" to be the national abbreviated dialing code to provide access to nonemergency community information and referral services. Pursuant to authority delegated by the FCC to state regulatory bodies and its existing statutory authority, the PUC has established procedures for implementing 2-1-1 dialing in California. This bill would create in the State Treasury the 2-1-1 Fund and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require Cal OES to allocate moneys appropriated from the fund to the California 211 Providers Network to be used for, among other things, enhancing critical 2-1-1 system capacity and service quality through core operating support, providing equitable access to 2-1-1 dialing and services, publishing a statewide 2-1-1 community needs data dashboard for use by state agencies, and providing annual reports to Cal OES, as specified. The bill would authorize Cal OES, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to recover its reasonable administrative costs to administer the 2-1-1 Fund, as specified.

Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for public utilities. Existing law establishes the state's 6 universal service funds in the State Treasury, including the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-A) and the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-B) , and provides that moneys in each of the state's universal service funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service. Moneys in the funds may only be expended to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. Existing law, the CHCF-A program, until January 1, 2028, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable program to establish a fair and equitable local rate structure aided by universal service rate support to small independent telephone corporations that serve rural areas and are subject to rate-of-return regulation by the commission. Existing law, the CHCF-B program, until January 1, 2028, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable, competitively neutral, and broad-based program to establish a fair and equitable local rate support structure aided by universal service rate support to telephone corporations serving areas where the cost of providing services exceeds rates charged by providers, as determined by the commission. This bill would extend the CHCF-A program and CHCF-B program requirements to January 1, 2033. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the CHCF-A program and CHCF-B program, which would be extended under the provisions of this bill, are part of the act, and a violation of a commission action implementing the programs' 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.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates September 2026 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. It directly affects state agencies and organizations by encouraging them to recognize this specific month for awareness activities. The measure does not change laws or allocate funding but serves as a formal commemorative resolution.

Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude those compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments to tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. This bill would ratify the first amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the State of California and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, executed on July 13, 2026. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions related to this amended compact are not projects for the purposes of CEQA. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would recognize and affirm the important role of artists, arts organizations, creative arts therapists, and arts for health initiatives in supporting behavioral health, promoting recovery, strengthening community resilience, and contributing to public safety. The measure would encourage and recognize exploration, support, and integration of arts and behavioral health within California's health care, behavioral health, and community-based systems.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services through fee-for-service (FFS) or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is in part governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, pharmacist services are a benefit under the Medi-Cal program, subject to federal approval, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to provide and administer Medi-Cal pharmacy services under a single statewide FFS delivery system, commonly known as the Medi-Cal Rx program. The department has implemented a transition of Medi-Cal pharmacy services, through Medi-Cal Rx, from managed care to FFS as a result of a 2019 executive order by the Governor. This bill would require the department to issue guidance clarifying Medi-Cal managed care plan obligations to cover pharmacist services, as specified. The bill would require the department to update its model evidence of coverage to explicitly include coverage of pharmacist services. The bill would also require the department to take appropriate corrective action for failure to comply with existing provisions of law relating to Medi-Cal coverage of pharmacist services or the issued guidance. The bill would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific these provisions by means of all-plan letters, plan letters, or other similar instructions, without taking any further regulatory action.

Existing law establishes various programs and services for older adults, as defined, including, among other things, the Adult Education Program under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and health promotion and preventative health services for older adults under the administration of the State Department of Public Health. This bill would authorize a local health department, area agency on aging, community college, public or private college, public or private university, or other appropriate county department, as determined by a county, to establish a Healthy Aging Community Partnership Program for older individuals designed to promote healthy aging, social engagement, and independent living in collaboration with relevant local entities, including school districts, libraries, faith institutions, and community organizations. The bill would authorize program activities to include, among other things, technology assistance, physical activity, and other community-based enrichment activities that support healthy aging and social connection. The bill would make implementation of these provisions subject to the availability of local resources and partnerships. The bill would specify that these provisions do not duplicate or supplant specified current adult education courses, classes, and services provided by the California Community Colleges, including through the Adult Education Program, as provided.

This measure would proclaim the month of October 2026 as California Firefighter Appreciation Month and October 3, 2026, as California Firefighters Memorial Day.

Existing law, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009, declares that the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is a critically important natural resource for California and the nation and it serves as both the hub of the California water system and the most valuable estuary and wetland ecosystem on the west coast of North and South America. Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Water Resources (department) . Existing law requires the department and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to determine the principal options for the Delta and requires the department to evaluate and comparatively rate each option for its ability to do specified things, including, among others, to maintain Delta water quality for Delta users, and to preserve, protect, and improve Delta levees. Existing law establishes in the agency the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Existing law requires the conservancy to act as a primary state agency to implement ecosystem restoration in the Delta and to support efforts that advance environmental protection and the economic well-being of Delta residents. Existing law provides for the preservation of specified management areas of the Suisun Marsh, pursuant to a protection plan prepared and adopted by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as provided. Existing law establishes the Delta Stewardship Council, and requires the council to develop, adopt, and implement a comprehensive long-term management plan for the Delta, known as the Delta Plan, as provided. Existing law requires the department, upon appropriation, to reimburse an eligible local agency for costs incurred for the maintenance or improvement of specified levees, in an amount not to exceed 75% of costs incurred in excess of a set amount per mile, as provided. This bill would require the department to reimburse 100% of the excess costs if a local agency demonstrates economic hardship and the reimbursement is for a project that addresses a threat to life, property, water supply, or habitat. This bill would establish the Delta Levees and Canal Subsidence Fund in the State Treasury and, upon appropriation, would make the moneys in the fund available to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency for expenditure consistent with the allocations described below. The bill would authorize the secretary to seek out, and the fund to accept, state moneys from, among other sources, any bond funds, the General Fund, or the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The bill would authorize the fund to accept moneys from nonstate sources, including federal and private moneys, and would continuously appropriate those moneys without regard to fiscal year, for allocation as described below, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the secretary to allocate moneys in the fund, as specified, subject to funding availability, as follows: (1) to the department for the purposes of supporting capital improvements to restore the original design water conveyance capacity for state water conveyance systems, as defined, impacted operationally by land subsidence, and (2) to the department for projects in the Delta or Suisun Marsh to improve existing levees, as specified. The bill would require the conservancy to convene a working group with specified representation to develop a list of recommended projects, as provided. The bill would require the conservancy to publish the list on its internet website, allow 45 days for public comment, and hold at least one community meeting before the list is approved by the conservancy's governing board. The bill would require the department to administer any grants or funding agreements from the list of projects. The bill would require at least 15% of the funds for projects in the Delta or Suisun Marsh, as described in (2) above, to be for Delta levee projects from the list developed by the working group, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to impose additional requirements on projects to meet the conditions of the funding source, as provided. The bill would prohibit these moneys from being expended to pay the costs of the design, construction, operation, mitigation, or maintenance of any additional Delta conveyance facilities, as provided. The bill would require the secretary, no later than January 1, 2032, and by January 1 every 5 years thereafter, to report to the Legislature on expenditures, as provided. This bill would also require the department to provide a report to the budget committees of the Assembly and Senate no later than May 1, 2027, and biennially thereafter, that contains a 5-year spending plan detailing the engineering and capital improvements necessary to address state water conveyance systems impacted operationally by land subsidence, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to charge the state water supply contractors for the actual and reasonable cost of developing the plan.

(1) Existing law establishes various grant and loan programs for research, including, among others, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program, and the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Program. This bill would establish the California Foundation for Science and Health Research within the Government Operations Agency. The bill would require the Secretary of Government Operations to oversee the process of appointing the director of the foundation, and would authorize the Secretary of Government Operations to delegate the task of hiring and determining the salaries, bonuses, and benefits of additional personnel to the director, as specified. The bill would require the director and personnel of the foundation to be responsible for implementing the strategic objectives of the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Council, as described below, administering grants, loans, and contracts awarded by the council, and all other duties as deemed necessary for the operation of the foundation. This bill would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund and require the moneys in the fund to be used by the foundation to award grants and make loans to, and enter into contracts with, public or private research companies, universities, academic medical centers, institutes, and organizations for scientific research and development and for certain economic sectors, as specified, in specific areas of research, including, but not limited to, biomedical, behavioral health, and climate research. The bill would also create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Benefit Fund, to consist solely of private donations. The bill would make the moneys in the benefit fund available for the same purposes as the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund. This bill would require that, prior to the first grant from the foundation and no later than one year from the date the bill takes effect, the council develop various provisions and requirements to facilitate the foundation's goals of affordability and equitable access. The foundation shall impose various requirements on the grantees, loan recipients, and contractors, as specified, including, among other things, developing strategies to promote equitable access to the subject invention in various specified communities and making the data resulting from the bond-funded research available to the broader scientific community, except in cases involving national security interests. The council shall also establish standards requiring that all grants, awards, and contracts be subject to intellectual property agreements that balance the opportunity for the State of California to benefit from the inventions, technologies, patents, royalties, and licenses that result from research funded by certain public and private grants, as specified. This bill would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Council, as specified, which shall be vested with full power, authority, and jurisdiction over the foundation. The bill would require the council to, among other things, develop the strategic objectives and priorities of the foundation and provide the opportunity for public comment on the foundation's priorities, as specified, determine the research projects that will be funded by the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund, develop objectives and opportunities that offer support to early career researchers, and adopt certain regulations and standards, as specified. The bill would also require the council to consider how the foundation's research priorities relate to or support various economic and industry considerations, as specified. The bill would provide that a majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum for the transaction of any business, for the performance of any duty, or for the exercise of any power of the council, except as otherwise provided. The bill would authorize the council to establish one or more scientific peer review panels consisting of experts in specified fields of research for the purposes of reviewing and prioritizing proposals on the basis of the scientific merit of the proposal, the potential benefit to the health and well-being of the population, natural resources, and environment of the state, and the demonstrated background, training, and expertise of the researchers and investigators to conduct the proposed work. This bill would require all research and development funded by the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund to be conducted under established standards of open scientific exchange, peer review, and public oversight. The bill would require the funds and contracts to be awarded on the basis of the research priorities established for the foundation by the council and the scientific merit of the proposed research, as determined by an open, competitive, scientific peer review process that ensures objectivity, consistency, and high quality. This bill would enact the California Science and Health Research Bond Act, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,500,000,000, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, to finance grants and loans to fund research and operate and maintain facilities for research. The bill would provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the March 7, 2028, statewide primary election. (2) Existing law establishes prohibitions and penalties with respect to ethical obligations and conflicts of interest for public officials, including a prohibition on engaging in activities that are incompatible with their official duties and a prohibition on being financially interested in a contract made by them in their official capacity or the board of which they are a part. This bill would authorize a council member to participate in a decision to approve or award a grant, loan, or contract for the purpose of research into a disease in which the member or their immediate family member has a personal interest, as specified. The bill would provide that service with specified educational institutions and organizations is not incompatible with a council member's duties. The bill would provide that the prohibition on being financially interested in a contract, as specified, does not apply if the council member recuses themself from a decision to award or approve a grant, loan, or contract that would otherwise be subject to the prohibition. The bill would provide that council members are subject to certain disclosure requirements relating to personal investments and potential conflicts of interest, as specified. (3) Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body, with specified exceptions for authorized closed sessions. This bill would require the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act to apply to all meetings of the council and scientific peer review panels, except as specified for when the council or scientific peer review panels meet to consider or discuss specified matters in closed sessions, including matters involving information relating to patients or medical or scientific research subjects, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. 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. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.