RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff. A detailed overview of the legislative process can be accessed here.
Note: All of the bills introduced this year are initially referred to the Senate or Assembly Rules Committee. The Rules Committee assigns each bill to the appropriate policy committee based on the subject matter of the bill. If the bill is determined to have a fiscal impact to the state, the bill will be referred to the Appropriations Committee. Many bills in the Appropriations Committee may be placed on the Suspense File. The Suspense File is simply a place holder for legislation that is determined to have a cost of $150,000 or greater to the state. The Appropriations Committee of each house will typically deal with all bills placed on the Suspense File at the end of May for bills from their house of origin, and the end of August for bill from the other house.
AB 1035 (Perez): Workers' Compensation: Firefighters and Pease Officers. AB 1035 would extend the timeline for death benefit claims under the workers' compensation system for firefighters and peace officers. Status: Gained passage in the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, and now awaits consideration in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
AB 1540 (Hagman): Concurrent Enrollment. Current law restricts a principal from recommending more than 5% of the total number of students in the same grade-level from concurrent enrollment in a summer session course. AB 1540 would reinstate the 5% enrollment cap through 2017 and would add computer science courses to the exemption list. Status: Passed out of the Assembly Education Committee. RCRC Position: Support
AB 1970 (Gordon): Global Warming Solutions Act: Community Investment. AB 1970 would create the Community Investment and Innovation Program which would provide funding to local governments in the form of grants and other financial assistance to develop and implement greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction projects. Status: Passed out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Position: Support
AB 2373 (Hernandez): Probation Officers: Funding. AB 2373, as initially proposed, would have required county Boards of Supervisors to approve probation officers’ written requests for resources as part of a county’s probation department’s notification to the Board that they have insufficient resources to conduct a variety of responsibilities. During the bill’s review in the Assembly Local Government Committee, the author agreed to amend the bill to only require that the Board of Supervisors be required to respond to a Chief Probation Officer’s written request for additional resources. Status: AB 2373 gained passage in the Assembly Local Government Committee and now awaits consideration in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. RCRC Position: Opposed to the Introduced Version/Pending a Review on the Amended Version
AB 2402 (Buchanan): Noxious Weed Management. AB 2402 would appropriate $2.5 million from the General Fund to the Noxious Weed Management Account within the California Department of Food and Agriculture and specify the allocation of the funds from the Noxious Weed Management Account to the various entities. Status:Passed out of the Assembly Agriculture Committee. RCRC Position: Support
SB 1166 (Vidak): Home to School Transportation Funding. SB 1166 would require the state to fully reimburse school districts for costs associated with Home to School Transportation. Status: Failed passage in the Senate Education Committee. RCRC Position: Support
SB 1268 (Beall): Natural Resources Climate Improvement Program. SB 1268 would establish the Natural Resource Climate Improvement Program. Status: Passed out of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. RCRC Position: Support