RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.
Assembly Bill 64 (Bonta): Cannabis: Medical and Nonmedical. Assembly Bill 64 would amend the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. Status: AB 64 awaits action in the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. RCRC Position: Watch
Assembly Bill 84 (Mullin): Primary Elections: Election Date. Assembly Bill 84 would require the presidential primary election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. AB 84 would also require that the statewide direct primary election be held on that same day and consolidated with the presidential primary election during a presidential primary election year. Status: AB 84 awaits action in the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
Assembly Bill 148 (Mathis): California Physician Corps Program: Practice Setting. Assembly Bill 148 would revise the definition of “practice setting” for the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (Program) to include rural area clinics that have 30 percent of patients from medically underserved populations. Status: AB 148 awaits action in the Senate Health 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 California Transportation Commission reside in a rural county with a population less than 100,000 individuals. Status: AB 174 awaits action in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee. RCRC Position: Support
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 Senate Environmental Quality 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 would itemize each expenditure on the State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Fee indefinitely. Status: AB 211 awaits action in the Senate Natural Resources and Water 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 the consideration of the Governor. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 263 (Rodriguez): Emergency Medical Services Workers: Working Conditions. Assembly Bill 263 relates to the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act and would require an employer that provides emergency medical services as part of an emergency medical services system or plan to authorize and permit its employees to take prescribed rest periods. Status: AB 263 awaits action in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
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 Senate. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 376 (Chavez): Veteran’s Benefits: Veteran Farmers or Ranchers. Assembly Bill 376 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 Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 425 (Caballero): Timber Harvesting Plans: Exemptions: Temporary Roads. 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 Senate Appropriations 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 851 (Caballero): Local Agency Design-Build Projects. Assembly Bill 851 would extend the sunset on county authority to utilize the construction manager at risk (CMAR) project delivery method. Status: AB 851 awaits action in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 920 (Aguiar-Curry): Electricity: Integrated Resource Plans. Assembly Bill 920 would require the Public Utilities Commission, when reviewing a load-serving entity's integrated resource plan, to evaluate the mix of resources in the entity's portfolios to ensure balance. Status: AB 920 awaits action in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Assembly Bill 975 (Friedman): Natural Resources: Wild and Scenic Rivers. Assembly Bill 975 would expand the area protected in the state’s Wild & Scenic Rivers System from immediately adjacent to the affected river segment to one-quarter of a mile, including both public and private lands. Status: AB 975 awaits action in the Assembly. RCRC Position: Oppose
Assembly Bill 1066 (Aguiar-Curry): Public Works: Definition. Assembly Bill 1066 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 Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. RCRC Position: Concerns
Assembly Bill 1069 (Low): Local Government: Taxicab Transportation Services. Assembly Bill 1069 would make changes to the local licensing of taxicabs. Status: AB 1069 awaits action in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
Assembly Bill 1250 (Jones-Sawyer): Counties and Cities: Personal Contract Services. Assembly Bill 1250 would establish specific standards for the use of personal services contracts by counties. Status: AB 1250 awaits action in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
Assembly Bill 1414 (Friedman): Solar Energy System Permits. Assembly Bill 1414 would set a hard cap on permitting fees for solar installations. Status: AB 1414 awaits action in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
Assembly Bill 1667 (Friedman): Agricultural Water Management. Assembly Bill 1667 would make permanent agricultural water conservation criteria established as part of the Governor’s response to the drought. Status: AB 1667 awaits action in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. RCRC Status: Watch
Senate Bill 167 (Skinner): Housing Accountability Act. Senate Bill 167 would make significant changes to the HAA with new terms and definitions; broaden the ability to sue local governments, and increases fines on local governments concerns. The author has committed to taking amendments to address local government. Status: SB 167 awaits action in the Assembly Local Government Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
Senate Bill 252 (Dodd): Well Permits. Senate Bill 252 relates to new well permits issued in critically over-drafted groundwater basins. Status: Awaits action in the Assembly Local Government Committee. RCRC Position: Opposition Removed
Senate Bill 458 (Wiener): Beverage Container Recycling: Mobile Recycling Program. Senate Bill 458 would permit the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to establish several mobile recycling pilot projects. Status: SB 458 awaits action in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 506 (Nielsen): Streambed Alteration Agreements. Senate Bill 506 would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to update its Website to provide more useful information to landowners regarding streambed alteration agreements. Status: SB 506 awaits action in the Assembly. 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 Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 577 (Dodd): Public Postsecondary Education: Community College. Senate Bill 577 would allow community college districts to offer a teacher credentialing program. Status: SB 577 awaits action in the Assembly Higher Education Committee. RCRC Position: Support
Senate Bill 623 (Monning): Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. Senate Bill 623 would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. SB 623 would provide grants, loans, or services to assist those without access to safe and affordable drinking water. Status: SB awaits action in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. RCRC Position: Watch
Senate Bill 649 (Hueso): Wireless Telecommunications Facilities. Senate Bill 649 would amend existing law which provides that a wireless telecommunications collocation facility is subject to a city or county discretionary permit and is required to comply with specified criteria. Status: Awaits action in the Assembly Communications & Conveyance Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose