RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.
Assembly Bill 148 (Mathis): California Physician Corps Program: Practice Setting. Assembly Bill 148 would revise the definition of “practice setting”, outlined within OSHPDs guidelines for the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (Program), and lower the threshold from 50% to 30% of patients in rural areas. The Program provides financial incentives to physicians and surgeons who agree to practice in a medically underserved area. Status: AB 148 awaits action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 174 (Bigelow): California Transportation Commission (CTC): Membership. Assembly Bill 174 would require that at least one voting member serving on the CTC reside in a rural county with a population less than 100,000 individuals. Status: AB 174 awaits action in the Assembly Transportation Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 179 (Cervantes): California Transportation Commission (CTC). Assembly Bill 179 would require that six voting members of the CTC have specified qualifications. Additionally, this bill would require that the CTC create an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, comprised of at least five members, to advise the CTC in its allocation and programming of transportation monies and other transportation policy matters. Status: AB 179 awaits action in the Assembly Transportation Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose Unless Amended
Assembly Bill 196 (Bigelow): Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Water Supply. Assembly Bill 196 would authorize the use of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds (GGRF) for water and wastewater systems if the investment furthers the regulatory purposes of the act and is consistent with law. With this bill, water supply investments, including repairs, pump and motor efficiency improvements, drinking water transmission and distribution system water loss, and wastewater systems, would be specifically eligible for funding. Status: AB 196 awaits action in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 211 (Bigelow): State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fees. Assembly Bill 211 would require the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to provide an annual report to the Legislature which itemizes each expenditure on the State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Fee indefinitely. Status: AB 211 awaits action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 255 (Gallagher): Sexually Violent Predators: Out of County Placement. Assembly Bill 255 would require the court to consider additional factors when determining the county of placement for a sexually violent predator outside the county of domicile. Additionally, the bill would provide that if those factors do not identify a suitable county for conditional release that is not the county of domicile, the county of conditional release is the county in which the person was arrested for the crime for which he or she was last incarcerated in the state prison or from which he or she was last returned from parole. Status: AB 255 awaits action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 275 (Wood): Long-Term Care Facilities: Requirements for Changes. Assembly Bill 275 would expand the notice and planning requirements that a skilled nursing facility provides before any change in the status of license or in the operation of the facility that results in its inability to care for its residents. Status: AB 275 awaits action in the Assembly Aging and Long-Term Care Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 288 (Obernolte): State Responsibility Areas: Fire Prevention Fees. Assembly Bill 288 would extend the period for paying a Fire Prevention Fee from 30 days to 60 days from the date of the assessment by the State Board of Equalization. Status: AB 288 awaits action in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 376 (Chavez): Veteran’s Benefits: Veteran Farmers or Ranchers. Assembly Bill would require the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, in coordination with other state agencies to identify and disseminate specified information to assist veterans in entering farming or ranching careers. Status: AB 376 awaits action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 425 (Caballero): Timber Harvesting Plans: Exemptions. Assembly Bill 425 would expand the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption to allow the construction or reconstruction of temporary roads on slopes of 40 percent or less if certain conditions are met, including that a registered professional forester designates temporary road locations, associated class III watercourse crossings, and unstable areas, on specified maps. Status: AB 425 awaits action in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 524 (Bigelow): Personal Income Tax: Deduction: Remove Dead and Dying Trees. Assembly Bill 524 would allow a personal income tax deduction for expenses paid or incurred by a taxpayer in the taxable year in connection with the removal of a dead or dying tree on real property owned by the taxpayer. Status: AB 524 awaits action in the Assembly. Status: Support
Assembly Bill 583 (Wood): Emergency Medical Air Transportation. Assembly Bill 583 would extend the dates of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act, so that the assessment of the penalties will terminate commencing January 1, 2028, and any monies unexpended and unencumbered in the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund on June 30, 2029, will transfer to the General Fund. The bill would extend the operation of the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act until January 1, 2030. Status: AB 583 awaits action in the Assembly Health Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 771 (Quirk): Burning of Forest Lands: Forest Land Owners. Assembly Bill 771 would require CalFIRE, in consultation with the Air Resources Board, to develop a page on its website that provides pertinent information on prescribed burn regulations. This measure would also require the department to develop a uniform prescribed burn template that would provide information regarding best management practices associated with the planning and implementation of a prescribed burn. Status: AB 771 awaits action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 920 (Aguiar-Curry): California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program. Assembly Bill 920 would require, for the compliance period ending December 31, 2024, and for each compliance period thereafter, that not less than 20% of the electricity products procured by a retail seller through renewable energy resource contracts executed on or after June 1, 2010, are for renewable baseload generation, as defined, and meet a specified product content requirement. Status: AB 920 awaits action in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 1066 (Aguiar-Curry): Public Works: Definition. Assembly Bill 1066 which would revise the definition of the term “demolition” as it relates to public works to include tree removal for the purposes of payment of prevailing wages. Status: AB 1066 awaits action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Concerns
Assembly Bill 1342 (Flora): Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Appropriation. Assembly Bill 1342 would appropriate money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for healthy forest programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions causes by uncontrolled wildfires. Status: AB 1342 awaits action in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 1433 (Wood): Climate Adaptation and Resilience Based on Nature. Assembly Bill 1433 would create the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Based on Nature Account in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Status: AB 1433 awaits action in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 9 (Gaines): State Responsibility Areas: Fires Prevention Fees. Senate Bill 9 would repeal the imposition of State Responsibility Area fees upon structure owners. Status: SB 9 awaits action in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 188 (Jackson): Emergency Management Assistance Compact. Senate Bill 188 would extend the sunset date of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. Status: SB 188 awaits action in the Senate. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 222 (Hernandez): Inmates: Health Care Enrollment. Senate Bill 222 will extend the suspension of Medi-Cal benefits to incarcerated individuals until they are released, regardless of the length of their incarceration time. Status: SB 222 awaits action in the Senate Health Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 339 (Roth): Veterans Treatment Courts: Judicial Council Assessment. Senate Bill 339 would require the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature on a study of veterans and veterans treatment courts that includes a statewide assessment, as specified, of veterans treatment courts currently in operation and a survey of counties that do not operate veterans treatment courts that identifies barriers to program implementation and assesses the need for veterans treatment courts in those counties, if funds are received for that purpose. Status: SB 339 awaits action in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 563 (Lara): Residential Wood Smoke. Senate Bill 563 would establish the Woodsmoke Reduction Program to replace old wood-burning stoves with cleaner and more efficient alternatives. Status: SB 563 awaits action in the Senate Rules Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 577 (Dodd): Public Postsecondary Education: Community College. SB 577 would allow community college districts to offer a teacher credentialing program. Status: SB 563 awaits action in the Senate Education Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 708 (Skinner): Supplemental Security Income & CalFresh: Pre-enrollment. Senate Bill 708 would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before March 31, 2018, to request a waiver to allow for the pre-enrollment of otherwise eligible applicants to the CalFresh program up to one month prior to the applicant’s reentry into the community from a county jail or state prison. Status: SB 708 awaits action in the Senate Rules Committee. RCRC Position: Support