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Prepared by Precision Advocacy
The legislature returns from summer recess on August 3, beginning a consequential final stretch of the 2026 legislative session. Lawmakers will immediately resume consideration of hundreds of measures facing key fiscal committee hearings, including bills scheduled for the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees and measures awaiting action on the suspense files. With the fiscal committee deadline approaching, many proposals affecting counties and other local agencies will either advance to the floor or be held for the year.
This report highlights priority legislation affecting government finance and administration, public employment, artificial intelligence, elections, public records, wildfire resilience, water policy, solid waste, energy, environmental permitting, and other significant local government responsibilities. It also summarizes the California State Association of Counties’ (CSACs’) positions and the principal policy, fiscal, operational, and legal considerations associated with each measure.
Government Finance and Administration Legislation
These measures address public employment, workers’ compensation, retirement systems, elections, public records, artificial intelligence, open meetings, taxes, local fees, and administrative responsibilities.
AB 387 (Alanis) Nevaeh Youth Sports Safety Act – As amended 6/25/26
Requires, beginning January 1, 2028, public and private facilities hosting youth sports to provide access to a maintained and operational automated external defibrillator during official practices and matches. Facilities and youth sports organizations must collaborate to ensure AED availability and share associated costs.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Position: Oppose, in coalition with UCC, RCRC, and the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities, arguing that AB 387 would impose a significant unfunded mandate and increase liability exposure for cities, counties, schools, and special districts. They cite the costs of purchasing, installing, securing, inspecting, and maintaining AEDs, particularly at outdoor and after-hours facilities, as well as uncertainty over which facilities are covered and how many devices would be required. They also contend that existing liability protections may not cover the bill’s duties to ensure access and maintain sufficient AEDs. Without state funding, local agencies could be forced to restrict youth sports organizations’ access to public facilities.
AB 1048 (Chen) Workers’ compensation – As amended 6/15/26
Requires benefit and review notices to identify the applicable medical provider network and provide contact information for requesting the underlying preferred-rate contract. Payors must provide the contract upon request once every 365 days. It also requires physician signatures on requests for authorization and permits those requests to be submitted by mail, fax, or approved electronic methods.
Status: Awaiting disposition on the Senate Appropriations suspense file
CSAC Position: Oppose, along with the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities and UCC among others, because AB 1048 would allow medical providers to avoid contractually agreed-upon discounted rates by repeatedly requesting copies of contracts and receiving the higher Official Medical Fee Schedule payment if a contract is not produced within 30 business days. They contend the penalty is inappropriate because providers are responsible for maintaining and understanding their own contracts, and they warn the bill could invite administrative abuse, increase workers’ compensation costs, and raise employer premiums. The coalition supports giving providers access to contracts but proposes limiting requests to one copy per contract each year and removing the automatic higher-payment penalty.
AB 1383 (McKinnor) Public employees’ retirement benefits: safety members – As amended 7/1/26
Revises PEPRA, PERL, and Teachers’ Retirement Law provisions governing public pension benefits beginning January 1, 2027. It would update pensionable compensation limits for new members, including STRS members, and create new PEPRA safety retirement formulas for employees first hired on or after January 1, 2027: 2.5% at age 55, 2.7% at age 55, and 3% at age 55. For safety members hired on or after January 1, 2013, employers would be required to adjust formulas for future service so the same benefit percentage currently available at age 57 applies at age 55. The bill would also allow collectively bargained prospective increases or changes to higher or lower safety plans.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Oppose, along with Cal Cities, the California Special Districts Association, UCC, and RCRC arguing the bill would significantly increase pension costs for state and local governments by rolling back key reforms from PEPRA, which they say has stabilized pension systems and generated billions in savings. They contend the measure would raise employer and employee contribution rates, increase administrative costs, and create long-term fiscal risks at a time when governments already face rising pension liabilities, stagnant revenues, and new mandates. Opponents also warn that higher pension obligations could crowd out salary growth, worsen equity issues between safety and non-safety employees, and threaten local fiscal stability and core public services.
AB 1564 (Ahrens) Employer-employee relations: confidential communications – As amended 5/18/26
Prohibits public employers from questioning employees or representatives about confidential communications made in connection with representation matters, or from compelling disclosure of those communications to a third party. The bill states that it is intended to align with the PERB decision in William S. Hart Union High School District and does not apply to criminal investigations or override existing laws governing investigations and interrogations of public safety officers.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Oppose, in coalition with the California Special Districts Association, Cal Cities, RCRC, and UCC, among others. The coalition argues that AB 1564 would restrict public employers’ ability to conduct complete internal investigations by preventing certain questions about confidential communications between employees and union representatives. Opponents contend that these restrictions could impede investigations involving workplace violence, harassment, employee misconduct, misuse of public funds, and threats to students or minors. They also argue that the bill creates a de facto evidentiary privilege broader than existing law, conflicts with current Public Employment Relations Board standards, and could expose state and local agencies and schools to increased grievances, unfair labor practice claims, litigation, attorney fees, administrative costs, and liability.
AB 1576 (Ortega) Workers’ compensation: Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund – As amended 4/20/26
Clarifies how permanent disability is calculated for Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund claims, establishes new evidentiary standards for proving preexisting disabilities beginning January 1, 2027, and requires medical evaluations to use qualified medical evaluator procedures. It also directs the Division of Workers’ Compensation to maintain a list of qualified evaluators and transfers responsibility for paying benefits from the State Compensation Insurance Fund to the Department of Industrial Relations.
Status: Awaiting disposition on the Senate Appropriations suspense file
CSAC Position: Oppose – Opponents include the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities, County of Fresno, and RCRC. The coalition argues that AB 1576 does not provide the comprehensive reforms needed to stabilize the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund, which has experienced rapidly increasing claims, employer assessments, liabilities, and processing backlogs. Although opponents acknowledge that the bill improves documentation requirements for preexisting conditions, they contend it fails to address the initial eligibility threshold, disability-rating structure, the stacking of multiple disabilities following the Todd v. SIBTF decision, prioritization of severe claims, and broader claims-administration problems. They favor a more comprehensive reform package that preserves benefits for eligible injured workers while controlling escalating costs imposed on public and private employers.
AB 1821 (Pacheco) California Public Records Act: agency response time – As amended 6/25/26
Converts the California Public Records Act’s 10-day and 14-day response deadlines from calendar days to business days.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1883 (Bryan) Workplace surveillance tools – As amended 7/2/26
Prohibits public and private employers from using AI-enabled workplace surveillance tools to identify workers’ emotional states or collect neural data, with limited federal defense-related exceptions. The bill authorizes enforcement by the Labor Commissioner, public prosecutors, and affected workers, provides penalties of up to $500 per violation, and allows local governments to adopt stronger worker protections.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Oppose – opponents also include UCC, RCRC, the California Special Districts Association, Cal Cities, and the County Health Executives Association of California among others. The coalition argues that AB 1883 is overly broad and could restrict public agencies’ use of routine security and operational technologies, including cameras, key cards, GPS systems, and digital collaboration platforms. Opponents contend these tools are necessary to protect employees, vulnerable populations, public facilities, critical infrastructure, and public funds, as well as to investigate fraud, waste, and abuse. They also warn that the bill could create conflicts between the Labor Commissioner and the Public Employment Relations Board, extend unclear protections to independent contractors, and expose public agencies to civil actions, punitive damages, attorney fees, fines, and significant unfunded compliance costs. The coalition maintains that existing law already provides substantial labor protections for public employees and that the bill’s restrictions could unintentionally compromise public safety and essential services.
AB 1908 (McKinnor) Settlement agreements: victims’ compensation funding – As amended 6/3/26
Allows certain written settlements of tort claims against local public entities to be enforced in court, even when no civil action is pending, if the claim qualifies for a local victim compensation program and the agreement expressly provides for enforcement under Code of Civil Procedure Section 664.6.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1961 (Ahrens) Civil actions: protective orders: workplace violence – As amended 6/18/26
Authorizes an employer to seek a workplace violence restraining order (WVRO) on behalf of all employees at the workplace or location if harassment, unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence is directed at that workplace or location.
Status: Awaiting disposition on the Senate Appropriations suspense file
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2179 (Patel) Workplace violence: restraining orders – As amended 6/1/26
Allows remote appearances beginning July 1, 2027, and requires electronic filing for workplace violence restraining order proceedings, without charging remote appearance fees. It also requires county superior courts to adopt related procedures and directs the Judicial Council to develop implementing forms and rules by January 1, 2028.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2224 (Hadwick) County recorders: fees – As amended 5/21/26
Increases county recording fees, raising the first-page fee from $10 to $15 and additional-page fees from $3 to $4, while eliminating several supplemental charges. Fees may not exceed the reasonable cost of services and must be used exclusively by the county recorder’s office.
The measure also requires county recorders to implement an electronic recording system by January 1, 2028, permanently authorizes electronic delivery of records, and expands electronic recording to any record.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2341 (Fong) Local government: emergency response services: languages other than English – As amended 6/23/26
Requires local agencies providing emergency response services to translate emergency information into each language spoken by at least 5% of residents who speak English less than “very well,” based on American Community Survey or similarly reliable data. Local agencies may adopt broader translation standards.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2545 (Schiavo) Report: labor force impact: artificial intelligence – As amended 6/30/26
Establishes a 14-member advisory panel within the Employment Development Department to assess existing data and gaps related to AI’s effects on workers and labor markets. The panel must report findings and policy recommendations to the legislature by January 1, 2028, and the program sunsets January 1, 2029.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2640 (Hadwick) Commission on State Mandates: state mandates – As amended 6/18/26
Requires the Controller to notify a local agency or school district within 30 days of any reimbursement adjustment resulting from an audit or review and allows the claimant to choose whether the reduced reimbursement is offset or applied through an adjustment to future claim payments.
Status: Awaiting disposition on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2656 (Petrie-Norris) Public employees: notice: artificial intelligence performing service within scope of work – As amended 7/1/26
Requires public employers to give recognized employee organizations at least 45 days’ written notice before developing, purchasing, or requiring generative AI to perform work within represented employees’ job classifications.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Oppose, along with UCC, RCRC, the California Special Districts Association, and Cal Cities among others. The coalition argues that AB 2656 would impose an overly broad and unnecessary 45-day notice requirement before local agencies could develop, purchase, or require the use of generative artificial intelligence tools. Opponents contend the bill could delay routine technology purchases, including commonly used tools such as meeting transcription software, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot, even when those tools do not adversely affect employees. They also warn that ambiguous terms, such as when AI “development” begins or what constitutes “taking an action,” could lead to overreporting, legal uncertainty, and administrative delays. The coalition maintains that existing collective bargaining laws already require notice and consultation when technology affects wages, hours, or working conditions, and argues that the bill would add another costly state mandate on top of existing notification requirements.
SB 922 (Laird) Vehicles: local agency charges: use of streets or highways – As amended 7/2/26
Clarifies that local agencies may charge public service providers or ratepayers to recover street maintenance, repair, and related costs caused by using public roads to deliver services such as water, power, refuse collection, and transportation. These charges would not be considered prohibited fees for the privilege of using local streets under the Vehicle Code. The bill is intended to preserve local fee authority and reject the court’s interpretation in Rogers v. City of Redlands.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Assembly
CSAC Position: Support
SB 947 (McNerney) Employment: automated decision systems – As amended 7/2/26
Regulates employers’ use of automated decision systems in workplace decisions by prohibiting discriminatory or predictive uses, requiring independent human review before discipline or termination, and giving workers notice and access to the data and evidence used. The bill authorizes enforcement by the Labor Commissioner and public prosecutors, establishes a $500 civil penalty per violation, and allows stronger local protections.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Oppose, along with the California Special Districts Association, UCC, RCRC, Association of California Healthcare Districts, and Cal Cities among others. The coalition argues that SB 947 is overly broad and would impose costly, unfunded requirements on local governments, schools, and other public employers that use automated decision systems. Opponents contend the bill could apply to routine technologies used for scheduling, billing, training, workplace safety, and health care operations, while requiring independent investigations, supporting evidence, detailed notices, data disclosures, and potentially costly system modifications whenever automated output informs certain personnel decisions. They also warn that the bill would duplicate existing collective bargaining and employee appeal protections, create legal uncertainty by covering contractors and independent contractors, increase litigation risk, and divert limited public resources from essential services.
SB 951 (Reyes) Employment: technological displacement: notice – As amended 7/2/26
Expands the Cal/WARN Act by requiring employers to disclose when mass layoffs, relocations, or closures are caused substantially by AI or automation, including which job functions will be automated. It also requires employers to notify the Employment Development Department when automation causes a technological cessation in hiring, authorizes Labor Commissioner enforcement, and imposes penalties of up to $500 per day for noncompliance.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Oppose Unless Amended in coalition with RCRC, UCC, the California Special Districts Association, and Cal Cities among others. The coalition argues that SB 951 would impose substantial fiscal, administrative, and legal burdens on local government employers. Although recent amendments removed local agencies from the layoff-notification and “right of first bid” provisions, opponents remain concerned that agencies would have to notify the Employment Development Department whenever AI or automation contributes “in substantial part” to a decision not to hire. They contend that this undefined standard could apply to routine decisions involving vacant positions, even when no employee loses a job or has hours reduced, requiring extensive documentation and exposing agencies to litigation and penalties of up to $500 per day. The coalition also objects to treating independent contractors as workers and placing enforcement with the Labor Commissioner rather than the Public Employment Relations Board, warning that these provisions would create unprecedented liability and conflict with established public-sector labor law.
SB 970 (Cervantes) Military or overseas voters – As amended 5/21/26
Requires the Secretary of State to promulgate regulations to facilitate the secure return of ballots from military and overseas voters.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1005 (Caballero) Local agency: payment: rounding amount – As amended 7/2/26
Authorizes a local agency, upon approval by a majority vote of its governing body, to round cash payments and refunds to the nearest five cents. The bill takes effect immediately as an urgency statute to address operational challenges caused by the shortage and potential discontinuation of pennies.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Assembly
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1159 (Cabaldon) Artificial intelligence: transparency and governance – As amended 6/25/26
Clarifies that AI systems, autonomous agents, robots, and other nonhuman entities are not considered “persons” or members of the public under specified state transparency and governance laws. Natural persons may still use AI or assistive technology to engage with government, but the bill prohibits knowingly using AI to falsely represent that a person participated in a governmental process.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Assembly
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1187 (Durazo) Open meetings – As amended 7/6/26
Repeals requirements that certain local legislative bodies electronically accept and fulfill requests for meeting materials, translate meeting agendas, and assist with interpretation or translation of public meetings. It takes effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Assembly
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1244 (Allen) Public Agency Benefits Intermediary Compensation Disclosure Act – As amended 6/11/26
Requires brokers, consultants, and other intermediaries serving public agencies to disclose direct and indirect compensation, financial interests, and potential conflicts related to employee health benefit contracts. Disclosures must generally be provided before contracts are entered into or renewed, updated annually and when material changes occur, and supported by records. The requirements apply to contracts entered, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2028.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1312 (Richardson) Cemeteries – As amended 6/18/26
Establishes a process for local governments to declare an endowment care cemetery abandoned, take title to the property, and assume responsibility for its care, maintenance, and prepaid burial obligations. Local governments may transfer management to another qualified entity, and neither the local government nor a successor operator would be liable for the prior owner’s debts or misconduct. The bill also authorizes court and bureau actions to conserve cemetery funds, maintain the property, honor existing burial contracts, and facilitate transfer to a new operator.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Concerns, along with UCC and RCRC. County associations support efforts to address abandoned cemeteries but argue that SB 1312 was substantially amended too late in the process to allow meaningful stakeholder review. They are concerned that the bill creates an underdeveloped framework for declaring cemeteries abandoned, transferring title, and assigning long-term maintenance duties, raising unresolved property-rights, due-process, operational, and liability questions. They also caution that counties generally lack the funding and expertise to operate cemeteries and should not become the default owners of failed private cemetery businesses.
The organizations further contend that the bill’s liability protections and funding provisions are insufficient, potentially leaving local governments with perpetual maintenance obligations and responsibility for prepaid burial contracts after endowment funds are exhausted. They recommend stronger liability protections, a sustainable funding source, consideration of the LAFCo process, and greater emphasis on preventing cemetery abandonment before transferring responsibility to a public agency.
SB 1329 (McNerney) Real property tax: valuation: active solar energy system – As amended 7/1/26
Requires assessors to exclude renewable energy credits and government tax incentives or subsidies when valuing active solar energy systems for property tax purposes.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Oppose with UCC and RCRC. Opponents argue that SB 1329 would artificially reduce the assessed value of active solar energy systems and significantly decrease property tax revenues for counties, cities, schools, and special districts. They object in particular to limiting a solar facility’s useful or economic life to 25 years or the remaining lease term, contending that many facilities continue operating and generating income beyond that period through equipment replacement and repowering. The county organizations maintain that existing appraisal standards already allow assessors to account for obsolescence when supported by market evidence and warn that the bill’s prescribed depreciation methodology would reduce funding for public safety, fire protection, libraries, parks, and health and human services at a time of severe county fiscal pressure.
SB 1349 (Gonzalez) Taxation: tax expenditures: Legislative Analyst’s Office assessment – As amended 6/17/26
Requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office to review six major state tax expenditures and assess their costs, economic impacts, effects on the General Fund and Proposition 98, and whether they should be improved, limited, or repealed. Reports are due annually from 2028 through 2032, with legislative hearings and access to anonymized taxpayer data. The provisions sunset January 1, 2033.
Status: Awaiting disposition on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file
CSAC Position: Support
Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Legislation
These measures address wildfire resilience, water, solid waste, insurance, energy, data centers, wildlife, recycling, tribal resources, and environmental permitting.
AB 28 (Schiavo) Solid waste landfills: subsurface temperatures – As amended 6/11/26
Establishes new requirements for responding to subsurface heat events at solid waste landfills. Landfill owners and operators must notify regulatory agencies, provide monitoring data, prepare and financially support corrective action plans, reimburse participating agencies, and conduct air monitoring when required. CalRecycle may assume enforcement authority and impose penalties of up to $100,000 per day, with penalty revenue used to assist affected communities. The bill also requires county public health departments to conduct community health assessments, publish findings, and hold public hearings regarding health impacts and mitigation measures.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: – Oppose Unless Amended
AB 441 (Hadwick) Wildfire prevention: wildfire mitigation program – As amended 6/10/26
Extends the sunset date for the California Wildfire Mitigation Financial Assistance Program from July 1, 2029, to January 1, 2030.
Status: Awaiting disposition on the Senate Appropriations suspense file
CSAC Position: Support
AB 706 (Aguiar-Curry) Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act – As amended 7/2/26
Establishes the Forest Organic Residue Energy and Safety Transformation (FOREST) Program to support and expand biomass power generation, reactivate idle biomass facilities, and develop additional generation or feedstock capacity in strategically located areas. Subject to an appropriation by the legislature, the program would provide incentive payments to eligible biomass facilities that use solid fuel biomass or forest biomass waste to generate electricity sold to specified retail sellers. At least 60% of a participating facility’s feedstock would be required to come from Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-hazard wildfire zones. Facility operators would need to apply to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and demonstrate, among other requirements, that the facility is certified by the Energy Commission as an eligible renewable energy resource.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 710 (Irwin) Electrical corporations: resiliency planning: microgrid projects – As amended 6/25/26
Requires large electrical corporations, upon request, to collaborate with local governments, tribal governments, and community choice aggregators on resiliency planning and provide grid data needed to evaluate microgrid projects for critical facilities. The PUC may require the information to be aggregated or anonymized to protect privacy and grid security.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 762 (Irwin) Disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device: prohibition and penalties – As amended 6/30/26
Phases out disposable, battery-embedded tobacco vaping devices by prohibiting their manufacture or import beginning January 1, 2027, and their sale or distribution beginning January 1, 2028. Cities, counties, and the state may enforce the prohibition through civil penalties, beginning at $500 for a first violation, while violations are also punishable as infractions. Beginning in 2028, retailers possessing or selling prohibited devices are also subject to existing tobacco product seizure and penalty provisions.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1153 (Bonta) Illegal disposal site abatement – As amended 6/18/26
Authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, upon appropriation by the legislature, to provide grants and use existing programs to help local enforcement agencies remove and dispose of abandoned recreational vehicles, develop enforcement strategies, and establish local enforcement teams and illegal dumping enforcement officers. The department must prioritize projects located in disadvantaged communities.
Status: Awaiting disposition on the Senate Appropriations suspense file
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan) Data centers: reporting – As amended 7/2/26
Requires owners of data centers with at least 10 megawatts of installed information technology capacity to report operational, energy-use, efficiency, cooling, and onsite generation data to the California Energy Commission. Beginning with the 2029 Integrated Energy Policy Report, the commission must assess data center electricity demand and recommend measures to address grid reliability, capacity, and emissions impacts. Data center applicants must also provide local permitting agencies with estimated energy use, onsite generation, and noise levels, while specified customer, proprietary, and trade secret information is protected from public disclosure.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1617 (Alanis) Household hazardous waste: reporting – As amended 7/2/26
Changes the reporting period for the annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Report, or Form 303, from the prior fiscal year to the prior calendar year. It also requires public agencies or their contractors to submit the completed report to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, rather than directly to the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1699 (Rogers) Good Fire Act – As amended 6/25/26
Creates a pathway to allow individuals certified as prescribed fire managers under other certification programs, as specified, to be designated as a state-certified burn boss and makes changes to the Prescribed Fire Liability Pilot Program to advance the implementation of prescribed fire throughout the state.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1754 (Pacheco) State general obligation bonds: requirements – As amended 6/15/26
Establishes new accountability, transparency, and reporting requirements for future statewide general obligation bonds including, but not limited to specific goals, performance metrics, data collection standards, public reporting, and evaluations.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Oppose Unless Amended
AB 1761 (Rogers) Electricity: calculation methodology: data disclosure – As amended 3/19/26
Requires the California Public Utilities Commission and parties such as electrical corporations to disclose the underlying data used to support proposals, staff analyses, rulings, and decisions involving the calculation or application of charges imposed on load-serving entity customers to recover procurement-related costs, including charges such as the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment and similar cost-recovery charges. The bill would require that data generally be disclosed publicly, with market-sensitive information instead shared with a nonmarket participant reviewing representative under a commission-approved nondisclosure agreement and would require disclosure to occur concurrently with the related proposal, analysis, decision, or ruling and in native file format. At the same time, the bill specifies that disclosure failures or good-faith data errors would not automatically invalidate a commission methodology, charge, decision, or ruling unless they rise to the level of existing judicial review standards.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1787 (Schultz) Electrical corporations: smart meter infrastructure: dynamic rates – As amended 7/2/26
Requires large electric utilities that upgrade smart-meter infrastructure to offer eligible customers an optional dynamic electricity rate within 18 months. The rate would reflect changing wholesale prices and, when feasible, grid conditions. The bill also requires near-real-time access to usage data, timely data sharing with authorized energy providers, customer protections, and safeguards against cost shifts to nonparticipating customers.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1812 (Aguiar-Curry) Solid waste: compostable products – As amended 7/2/26
Revises compostability labeling standards by eliminating the requirement that products meet specified ASTM standards and instead requiring OK compost HOME certification or compliance with a standard adopted by CalRecycle. Beginning June 30, 2027, products made wholly or partly of plastic may no longer be sold as “compostable” or “home compostable,” with a limited exemption for certain food service ware accepted by local recycling collectors. The bill also broadens the exemption for plastic-free fiber products and repeals existing compostable bag labeling requirements.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1881 (Ramos) California Indian Freedom Act of 2026 – As amended 5/19/26
Enacts the California Indian Freedom Act of 2026 which prohibits a governmental agency from substantially burdening a California Native American tribe from exercising religious beliefs or spiritual practices on state lands unless it is in furtherance of a compelling government interest by the least restrictive means.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Oppose Unless Amended
AB 1934 (Bennett) State Fire Marshal: home hardening certification program implementation plan – As amended 6/9/26
Requires the Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee, by January 1, 2028, to develop an implementation plan for a voluntary, tiered home hardening certification program addressing measures such as defensible space and ember resistance. The plan must recommend inspector qualifications, certification duration, and standards for aligning existing homes with wildland-urban interface building requirements. The committee must report its findings to the legislature, and the State Fire Marshal must establish and implement the program consistent with those recommendations.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 1954 (Ward) Municipal golf courses: reservations – As amended 6/4/26
Prohibits third-party golf reservation platforms and other persons from listing, advertising, selling, or transferring reservations for a locally owned golf course without a written agreement with the course operator. An individual may resell or transfer a reservation for no more than the amount originally paid when the course operator does not clearly post its cancellation policy online. The bill applies to golf courses owned by cities, counties, charter cities, special districts, and joint powers authorities, and violations constitute an unlawful business practice.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2051 (Wicks) Coastal Resilience Permitting Working Group – As amended 7/6/26
Requires the California Natural Resources Agency to develop a Coastal Resilience Permitting Roadmap by January 1, 2028. The roadmap must recommend ways to streamline and coordinate permitting for coastal resilience projects, including unified applications, standardized mitigation, general or consolidated permits, workforce needs, and possible pilot programs. The agency must also convene an advisory group and hold public workshops with local governments, tribes, ports, utilities, businesses, environmental groups, and other stakeholders.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2180 (Ward) Local government: Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: proportional cost of service – As amended 5/22/26
Authorizes a local government to demonstrate the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel by any method that reasonably allocates the ascertainable cost of providing service to all parcels for any fee or charge adopted under Article XIII D of the Constitution, as specified. Recent amendments state that the measure does not apply to fees for water connections or sewer connections, or capacity charges.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2218 (Kalra) Water policy: California Native American tribes – As amended 7/2/26
Establishes a statewide policy requiring specified water and natural resources agencies to address inequities affecting California Native American tribes through consultation, financial assistance, protection of tribal beneficial uses, and incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into water and ecosystem decisions. It also requires mediation through the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs before certain disputes proceed to court and directs the State Water Resources Control Board, upon request, to consult with tribes whose ancestral territories include water bodies under investigation.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Oppose
AB 2322 (Papan) Water discharge: commercial, industrial, or institutional sites – As amended 4/6/26
Defines a “commercial, industrial, or institutional site” for municipal separate storm sewer
Systems (MS4) stormwater permitting based on county assessor land-use codes. For mixed-use parcels, the definition applies only to the commercial, industrial, or institutional portion and excludes residential facilities.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Concerns
AB 2410 (Ellis) Wildfire safety: fuels reduction projects: California Environmental Quality Act: California Coastal Act – As amended 7/9/26
Creates a temporary CEQA exemption, through January 1, 2030, for specified critical fuels reduction projects in high fire-risk communities that remove certain flammable or nonnative vegetation. Exempt projects must follow statewide environmental best practices, consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and submit completion and compliance documentation, with annual implementation reports to the legislature.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2469 (Papan) Data centers: water use disclosures – As amended 7/2/26
Prohibits local agencies from approving new or expanded data centers that increase peak water use unless applicants provide specified water supply, scarcity, and use assessments and pay the full cost of necessary water infrastructure improvements. It also requires the Department of Water Resources, by June 30, 2028, to define and estimate annual water use for large data centers and similar high-water-use facilities.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Oppose Unless Amended
AB 2513 (Petrie-Norris) Wildfire: Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program: local assistance grant program: regional landscape grants – As amended 4/16/26
Expands and restructures existing wildfire resilience and forest health programs by giving state agencies greater authority to directly fund regional implementation efforts and broadening eligible uses of grant funding. Specifically, it authorizes the Director of the Department of Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Board to directly award “regional landscape grants” to regional and local entities to carry out wildfire resilience strategies and requires the development of funding guidelines in coordination with the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force to align with the state’s Action Plan.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2724 (Bauer-Kahan) Catastrophe modeling: distressed areas – As amended 4/16/26
Establishes a process for identifying “distressed” insurance areas, particularly in wildfire-prone communities. The bill requires the Department of Insurance, beginning July 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to review and update distressed area designations in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, using new criteria that include ZIP Codes where at least 10% of properties rely on the FAIR Plan. It also mandates a formal public participation process, including public meetings and opportunities for comment, and requires the department to publish and report annually a list of distressed ZIP Codes to the legislature. Overall, the measure refines existing regulations to better reflect conditions in wildland-urban interface areas and improve transparency and responsiveness in insurance market oversight.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2728 (Soria) Groundwater: de minimis extractors: fees – As amended 6/11/26
Authorizes a local government to exempt de minimis groundwater extractors from groundwater monitoring or management fees if the funded activities primarily benefit other parties and any benefit to de minimis extractors is incidental.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Senate
CSAC Position: Support
AB 2739 (Soria) Water: affordability and system stabilization – As amended 7/2/26
Creates a state trust to provide long-term funding for water-rate assistance and local water infrastructure projects. It also establishes a grant program to help community water systems reduce costs passed on to ratepayers, generally requiring applicants to provide a 25% local match, which may be reduced or waived for extreme financial hardship.
Status: Scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 3
CSAC Position: Support
SB 501 (Allen) Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022: covered batteries – As amended 6/1/26
Expands the Responsible Battery Recycling Act to cover larger nonrechargeable and rechargeable batteries previously excluded from the program and classifies covered batteries as either small- or medium-format based on weight and energy capacity. The bill also clarifies that certain producer-provided anti-theft or tamper-prevention locks do not prevent a battery from being considered easily removable by a consumer and requires stewardship plans to provide specified collection sites for both battery formats.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 615 (Allen) Vehicle traction batteries – As amended 7/1/26
Revises the application requirements for power facilities and energy storage systems submitted to the California Energy Commission. The bill removes specified requirements to include detailed information about proposed electrical transmission lines and instead requires applicants to fund and submit an emergency response and action plan addressing potential impacts on surrounding communities. The plan must be coordinated with local emergency management agencies, unified program agencies, and first responders. Applications for energy storage systems must also include local emergency management agency analysis and feedback, and systems applying after January 1, 2026, must comply with setback requirements at least as protective as the latest NFPA 855 standards.
Status: Awaiting a full vote of the Assembly
CSAC Position: Support
SB 894 (Allen) Wildfire resiliency: financial assistance – As amended 5/14/26
Establishes the California Wildfire Resilience Loan Program to provide financial assistance for projects and activities to reduce wildfire-related risks and losses, including home hardening and defensible space improvements.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 955 (Blakespear) Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines – As amended 5/18/26
Clarifies that a reverse vending machine can not serve as a convenience zone recycler and revises the definition of “supermarket” to include grocery stores with more than $5 million in gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 973 (Becker) Wildfire County Coordinator Program – As amended 6/9/26
Codifies the Wildfire County Coordinator Program and requires CAL FIRE to contract with the California Fire Safe Council to administer it. The program would expand county-level capacity to coordinate wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and recovery activities, including evacuation planning, public education, smoke mitigation, home hardening, defensible space, fuels reduction, data collection, and community-scale resilience projects.
CAL FIRE would develop guidance for wildfire-risk modeling, county-level risk assessments, identification of high-risk communities, project prioritization, and measurement of risk-reduction outcomes. County coordinators would help communities secure and implement state and federal funding, coordinate with local, tribal, regional, and federal partners, lower the cost of home-hardening and defensible-space projects, develop the mitigation workforce, improve access to clean-air spaces and HEPA filters, and collect data on program costs and measurable wildfire-risk reductions.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1085 (Durazo) Water supply planning: housing developments – As amended 6/17/26
Restores the requirement that cities and counties approving certain projects identify a water system that would supply water for that project and require the completion of a water supply assessment.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1125 (Menjivar) Water Rate Assistance Program – As amended 6/9/26
Establishes a statewide program to provide water rate assistance to low-income residential ratepayers; and requires the State Water Resources Control Board to implement and administer the program upon the appropriation of funding by the legislature.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1135 (Blakespear) California Wildlife Coexistence Act – As amended 6/3/26
Establishes the California Wildlife Coexistence Act and, subject to funding, directs California Department of Fish and Wildlife to create programs addressing human-wildlife conflicts and compensating livestock owners for wolf-related losses. It emphasizes nonlethal prevention, creates a technical advisory committee, and requires public reporting on conflicts, expenditures, permits, and program outcomes beginning July 1, 2028.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1138 (Padilla) Load-serving entities: resource adequacy requirements – As amended 6/15/26
Allows load-serving entities to meet up to 25% of their resource adequacy obligations through short-term transactions with other load-serving entities, subject to Public Utilities Commission oversight and adjustment.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1180 (Allen) Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act: California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund – As amended 6/15/26
Establishes requirements for spending from the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund. It requires funded programs to improve public or environmental health, prioritize communities disproportionately affected by plastic pollution, support community-driven solutions, and reduce, prevent, or remediate plastic waste and microplastics. The bill expands grant eligibility to public agencies, nonprofits, special districts, utilities, mutual water companies, and joint powers authorities, while requiring collaboration with existing eligible entities. It also standardizes grant applications, requires technical assistance and advance payments, reimburses indirect costs, caps research spending at 15% and state administrative costs at 10%, and requires annual public reporting on funded projects, outcomes, community benefits, and measurable reductions in plastic pollution.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
SB 1305 (Richardson) Wildlife: bears – As amended 7/2/26
Requires the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop, by June 30, 2030, a science-based roadmap evaluating whether grizzly bear reintroduction is biologically feasible and advisable in California. The roadmap must assess potential reintroduction areas, source populations, ecological benefits, conflict risks, costs, community support, and tribal cultural and stewardship considerations. Any reintroduction would require additional scientific findings, tribal and community consultation, long-term management and coexistence standards, conflict and livestock-loss mitigation measures, and regulations governing the taking of grizzly bears. Implementation is contingent upon an appropriation, although the department may accept public or private funding.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Oppose
SB 1326 (Wahab) California Environmental Quality Act: tribal cultural resources: mitigation measures – As amended 6/11/26
Revises definitions and procedures for tribal consultation and consideration of impacts to tribal cultural resources (TCRs) under CEQA, increasing deference to California Native American tribes regarding identification and protection of TCRs.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Oppose Unless Amended
SB 1370 (Stern) Covered wildfire mitigation projects: consolidated and expedited review – As amended 7/2/26
Creates a temporary, consolidated state permitting process for qualifying wildfire mitigation projects. Applicants would submit one application, with state agencies generally required to issue a coordinated authorization within 60 days that may replace or waive specified state permits and requirements. Projects would remain subject to size, completion, environmental compliance, and penalty provisions, while local and federal requirements would continue to apply. The process would sunset on January 1, 2031.
Status: Awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
CSAC Position: Support
Upcoming Hearings
- Agendas are typically posted on the committee websites in the Assembly and Senate a few days prior to the hearings.
- To watch live: Assembly/Senate
- To view hearings after they take place, you may access them in the Assembly or Senate media archives where they are generally available within a few hours of committee adjournment.
Tuesday, August 04, 2026, 1:30 p.m.
Assembly Joint Hearing Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials and Senate Environmental Quality
State Capitol, Room 447
Oversight Hearing: Department of Toxic Substances Control Reform: Update Evaluation of the Board of Environmental Safety
Tuesday, August 04, 2026, 2:00 p.m.
Assembly Select Committee on Racism, Hate, And Xenophobia
State Capitol, Room 127
Informational Hearing: State of Hate and Xenophobia and Online Radicalization
Wednesday, August 05, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 7 on Accountability and Oversight
State Capitol, Room 126
Part 1: Indigent Health
Part 2: State Leadership Accountability Act and Audit Reporting Trailer Bill
Wednesday, August 05, 2026, 1:30 p.m.
Assembly Utilities and Energy
1021 O Street, Room 1100
Oversight Hearing: Savings You Don't See: California's Energy Efficiency Programs
Grant Opportunities
Below is a list of the latest grant opportunities released by the state. All opportunities for local jurisdictions may be found here.
Application Deadline: 9/1/26 23:59
Title: 2027 Department of Pesticide Regulation Sustainable Pest Management Grants Program
State Agency / Department: Department of Pesticide Regulation
Match Funding? No
Estimated Total Funding: $4,900,000
Funding Method: Reimbursement(s)
Application Deadline: 10/15/26 23:59
Title: Tire-Derived Aggregate Grant Program
State Agency / Department: Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Match Funding? No
Estimated Total Funding: $750,000
Funding Method: Reimbursement(s)
Governor’s Press Releases
Below is a list of the governor’s press releases beginning July 22.
July 29: New court documents expose Trump administration’s political targeting of Governor Newsom
July 29: California accelerates and modernizes state hiring process, saving thousands of hours of staff time
July 28: Vehicle theft in California dropped nearly 25% in 2025
July 28: Governor Newsom expands statewide partnerships with additional cities to clean up encampments on highways
July 27: California celebrates five years helping students and families plan for school and career through Cradle-to-Career
July 27: From the 2026 FIFA World Cup to LA28: California is ready
July 26: California secures federal assistance to support response to Dove Fire in Tuolumne County
July 24: California’s economy isn’t just bigger than Texas and Florida — it’s growing faster, too
July 23: California sues to stop Trump from using public safety funding to pressure states on elections
July 23: Governor Newsom delivers $109.6 million in voter-approved Prop 1 funding for 278 supportive homes, including housing for veterans
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