AB 211

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law provides that a violation of specified provisions relating to pest control operations is a misdemeanor punishable by, among other things, a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000. This bill would increase the fine to not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000. Existing law provides that a violation of specified provisions relating to pest control operations results in civil liability of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000. This bill would increase the amount of civil liability to not less than $3,000 nor more than $30,000. Existing law authorizes the Director of Pesticide Regulation to inspect and take samples of any produce grown, processed, packed, stored, shipped, transported, delivered for shipment, or sold. Existing law provides that a violation of provisions relating to pesticides is a misdemeanor. This bill would authorize the director to request sales records, purchase records, distribution records, or any other record related to produce grown, processed, packed, stored, shipped, transported, delivered for shipment, or sold if the director finds or suspects that a sample taken or inspected from that produce carries pesticide residue in excess of the permissible tolerance. The bill would require these records to be provided to the director within 48 hours of the request. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the director to levy a specified civil penalty in lieu of civil prosecution for a violation of this provision, subject to specified procedures. Existing law provides that a violation of specified provisions relating to pesticides is a misdemeanor, and results in a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000 for the first violation, and a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for a subsequent violation. Under existing law, if the offense involves an intentional or negligent violation that created or reasonably could have created a hazard to human health or the environment, the convicted person shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison or by a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000. This bill would increase the amount of the fine to not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000 for the first violation, and not less than $10,000 nor more than $75,000 for a subsequent violation. The bill would increase the fine if the offense involves an intentional or negligent violation that created or reasonably could have created a hazard to human health or the environment to not less than $15,000 nor more than $100,000. Existing law provides that a violation of specified provisions relating to pesticides or structural pest control devices, or any related regulation, results in civil liability of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for the first violation, and civil liability of not less than $5,000 nor more than $25,000 for a subsequent violation. This bill would increase the amount of the civil liability to not less than $3,000 nor more than $30,000 for the first violation, and not less than $15,000 nor more than $75,000 for a subsequent violation. Existing law authorizes the director, in lieu of civil prosecution, to levy a civil penalty against a person who violates specified provisions regarding pesticides and economic poisons, or the regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions, of not more than $5,000 for each violation. This bill would add specified provisions relating to pesticides to the provisions for which the director is authorized to levy a civil penalty, in lieu of civil prosecution, when violated. The bill would increase the above-described civil penalty to not more than $15,000 for each violation. Existing law provides that every person who violates a law relating to pesticides, or any regulation issued pursuant thereto, is guilty of a misdemeanor. In lieu of seeking prosecution for a misdemeanor, existing law authorizes the director to prosecute a violation civilly, as specified. In lieu of a civil prosecution by the director, existing law authorizes the county agricultural commissioner to levy a civil penalty against a person violating specified laws relating to pest control operations, pesticides, pesticides and worker safety, use of an unregistered pesticide, restricted materials, carbon monoxide pest control devices, structural pest control devices, or regulations adopted pursuant to these provisions in an amount of not more than $1,000 for each violation. Under existing law, a violation that the county agricultural commissioner determines is a Class A violation, as defined, is subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 for each violation. This bill would increase these civil penalties to $3,000 and $15,000, respectively, and would make various nonsubstantive changes. The bill would authorize the director to, in lieu of a civil penalty levied by the county agricultural commissioner, levy a civil penalty of not more than $20,000 for each violation of the above-described laws or implementing regulations under certain conditions, or to refer any of those violations to the proper enforcement agency, including the district attorney of the county where the violations occurred or the Attorney General. Existing law provides various penalties and forms of injunctive relief for violation of specified provisions of the Food and Agricultural Code relating to pesticides. This bill would authorize the director to, by regulation, adjust the level of specified statutory minimum and maximum civil monetary penalties to account for inflation. The bill would require the director to make inflation adjustments consistent with the formula used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to specified federal law. (2) Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas of the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on specified criteria. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal. Existing law authorizes a local agency, at its discretion, to include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence, as provided. This bill would additionally require a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate and high fire hazard severity zones within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal. By expanding the responsibility of a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would additionally authorize a local agency, at its discretion, to include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal, as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones, respectively. The bill would prohibit the local agency from decreasing the level of fire hazard severity zone as identified by the State Fire Marshal for any area within the jurisdiction of the local agency, as provided. (3) Existing law establishes the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet Purchasing Assistance Program within the Air Quality Improvement Program to make financing tools and nonfinancial supports available to operators of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets to enable those operators to transition their fleets to zero-emission vehicles. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to designate the California Pollution Control Financing Authority as the agency responsible for administering the program and requires the state board and the authority to enter into an interagency working agreement for the development and administration of the program. Existing law requires the authority to develop, in consultation with the state board, a data collection and dissemination strategy for the program, as provided. This bill would make the state board solely responsible for the development and implementation of the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Fleet Purchasing Assistance Program and would eliminate or transfer all of the authority's duties under the program. (4) Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells. Existing law requires the division to annually prepare and transmit to the Legislature a report of specified information statewide and by district, including the number of shall-witness and may-witness operations performed. This bill would additionally require the division to include in the report the number of shall-witness and may-witness operations performed where division personnel witnessed the operations in person, the number of shall-witness and may-witness operations performed where division personnel did not witness the operations in person and witnessed the operations remotely, the number of shall-witness and may-witness operations performed on critical wells where division personnel witnessed the operations in person, and the number of shall-witness and may-witness operations performed on critical wells where division personnel did not witness the operations in person and witnessed the operations remotely. The bill would, for all shall-witness and may-witness operations reporting requirements, require the report to provide the number of each type of may-witness operation as identified by law or regulation included in the total, as provided. The bill would require a complete list of all shall-witness operations where division personnel did not witness the operations in person and witnessed the operations remotely and information about each operation, as provided. The bill would require the division to maintain a written justification for each remote witnessing of shall-witness operations and provide it upon request. The bill would, until January 1, 2028, explicitly authorize the division to witness may-witness operations remotely, and require the division to prioritize witnessing of may-witness operations in person to the maximum extent possible. The bill would authorize the supervisor, only in writing and only on a case-by-case basis, to authorize division personnel to witness shall-witness operations remotely. The bill would prohibit the supervisor from delegating the authority to approve witnessing of these shall-witness operations remotely. The bill would also require all written authorizations for division personnel to witness shall-witness operations remotely to be maintained and available to the public upon request. The bill would prohibit the supervisor from setting any positive numerical quotas for division personnel to witness operations remotely or providing a blanket authorization for remote witnessing of shall-witness operations, and would require the supervisor to provide written guidance to division personnel on minimum standards for remote witnessing of shall-witness and may-witness operations. (5) Existing law authorizes the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to provide grants to, or enter into contracts or other cooperative agreements with, various entities for the implementation and administration of projects and programs to improve forest health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Existing law authorizes the director, until January 1, 2024, to authorize advance payments to certain entities from grants awarded. This bill would extend indefinitely the authority of the director to authorize those advance payments. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if the lead agency finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would provide that the environmental review set forth in the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for the Hollister Ranch Coastal Access Program, in combination with other environmental review documents related to the provision of public access to, and along the coastline of, Hollister Ranch in the County of Santa Barbara, is conclusively presumed to satisfy CEQA for a project to effectuate public access and associated facilities undertaken or approved by a public agency. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for Hollister Ranch in the County of Santa Barbara. Existing law exempts from the requirements of CEQA prescribed fire, thinning, and fuel reduction projects, including the issuance of permits or other approvals for those projects, undertaken on federal lands to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire that have been reviewed under the federal National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) if certain conditions are met. Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature the number of times this exemption is used. Existing law specifies that the exemption remains operative only if the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency certifies on or before January 1 of each year that NEPA or other federal laws that affect the management of federal forest lands in California have not been substantially amended. Existing law makes the exemption inoperative on January 1, 2023. This bill would extend the operation of this CEQA exemption to January 1, 2028, and would eliminate the secretary's certification condition and the department's reporting duties relating to the exemption. The bill would expand the exemption to include reforestation and habitat restoration projects, as well as related activities included in the project description. The bill would expand the exemption to include projects undertaken in part on federal lands. If the lead agency determines that the exemption applies to a project and determines to approve or carry out the project, the bill would require the lead agency to file a notice of exemption, as provided, and to post the notice of exemption and certain information on its internet website. If the lead agency is not the department, the bill would require the lead agency to provide the notice of exemption and other specified information to the department. Because the bill would expand the duties of a lead agency to determine the applicability of the exemption and would require the lead agency to file a notice of exemption and to perform other duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the secretary, if the secretary determines that substantial changes have been made since January 1, 2023, to NEPA or other federal laws that affect the management of federal forest lands in California, to report those changes to the Legislature. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA any discretionary approval necessary to carry out or implement projects funded by the Nature-Based Solutions Tribal Program or the tribal cultural burn and tribal wildfire funding authorized by the Budget Act of 2021. The bill would specify that the exemption only applies to projects carried out on lands subject to the jurisdictional control or the ownership of a California Native American tribe. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this exemption to a project, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, is established to promote beverage container recycling and provides for the payment, collection, and distribution of certain payments and fees based on minimum refund values established for beverage containers. This bill would revise the act's definition of "bag drop recycling center," as provided, and authorize a bag drop recycling center to use a bag drop machine. The bill would require the department to adopt emergency regulations to establish requirements for the operation of bag drop machines, and would require the department to provide on its internet website, and update at least once per year, information enabling consumers to identify the geographic locations of all points of redemption for beverage containers. Existing law authorizes the department to pay a quality incentive payment to either an operator of a curbside recycling program or any other entity certified under the act for empty glass, plastic, and aluminum beverage containers that meet specified conditions. This bill would authorize the department to pay a quality incentive payment to a certified recycling center under the act for thermoform plastic containers diverted from curbside recycling programs, as provided. The act authorizes the department to pay a market development payment to a reclaimer for empty plastic beverage containers that have been collected for recycling in the state, and that the reclaimer washes and processes into flake, pellet, sheet, or any other form that is then usable as input for the manufacture of new plastic products by product manufacturers in the state. The act also authorizes the department to pay a market development payment to a product manufacturer for plastic flake, pellet, sheet, or any other form of plastic purchased from a reclaimer and used by that product manufacturer to manufacture a plastic product in the state. The act makes these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2022. The act authorizes the department, for the 2019–20 fiscal year to the 2021–22 fiscal year, inclusive, to expend up to $10,000,000 each fiscal year for market development payments to reclaimers and product manufacturers, as provided. This bill would extend the market development payment inoperative date from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2026, and would authorize the department, for the 2022–23 fiscal year to the 2025–26 fiscal year, inclusive, to expend funds for market development payments to reclaimers and product manufacturers, as provided. The act requires the department, not less than once every 6 months, to provide the Legislature with information for the current fiscal year and the budget year that includes, among other things, an updated fund condition statement for the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, the recycling rate, projected sales, and projected handling fee and processing payments, and to post that information on the department's internet website. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2025, to provide the Legislature a report as it relates to appropriations made pursuant to the Budget Act of 2022 for purposes of the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, as specified, and to post that information on the department's internet website. (7) Existing law establishes the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which covers certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware, as provided. As part of its comprehensive statutory scheme, the act requires the producers, as defined, of these covered materials to source reduce plastic covered material, to ensure that covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state on or after January 1, 2032, is recyclable or compostable, and to ensure that plastic covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state meets specified recycling rates. The act prohibits a producer from selling, offering for sale, importing, or distributing covered materials in the state unless the producer is approved to participate in the producer responsibility plan of a producer responsibility organization (PRO) , as prescribed, for the source reduction, collection, processing, and recycling of covered material. Alternatively, the act requires a producer to comply with the act individually without participating in a PRO's plan. Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adopt regulations to implement the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, as prescribed, and, in establishing a recycled content requirement, requires the department or PRO to consider the amount of organic waste and analyze the greenhouse gas emissions associated with that organic waste. This bill would remove that requirement to consider organic waste in establishing a recycled content requirement. The bill also would make a technical change. (8) Existing law establishes the Transformative Climate Communities Program, to be administered by the Strategic Growth Council, and requires the program to fund the development and implementation of neighborhood-level transformative climate community plans that include multiple, coordinated greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects that provide local economic, environmental, and health benefits to disadvantaged communities identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency. Existing law requires the council to award competitive grants to eligible entities, as specified, through an application process and to develop guidelines and selection criteria for plan development and implementation of the program, as provided. This bill would establish the Community Resilience Center Program, to be administered by the council, in coordination with the Office of Planning and Research, to provide funding for the construction of new, or the retrofitting of existing, facilities to serve as community resilience centers, as provided. The bill would require the council to award competitive grants to eligible entities, as defined, through an application process, as provided. The bill would authorize the council, until July 1, 2025, to make advance payments on a grant awarded, as provided. The bill would require the council to adopt guidelines and selection criteria for the awarding of grants under the program, as provided. The bill would require the council to not use more than 8% of the moneys appropriated for the purposes of the program for the costs of administering the program. The bill would require the council, on or before January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter until the funds for the program are fully expended, to prepare and submit a report on the program, as specified, to the relevant budget subcommittees of the Legislature and to the Legislative Analyst's Office. (9) The hazardous waste control laws require the owner or operator of a facility or transportable treatment unit operating under a permit-by-rule, a generator operating under a grant of conditional authorization, and a generator performing treatment conditionally exempted to pay certain fees to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration per facility or transportable treatment unit for each reporting period or a portion of a reporting period. Existing law specifies that those fees are due and payable to the department in 2 equal installments, on or before November 30 and February 28 of each fiscal year. This bill would specify that, for the 2022–23 fiscal year, these fees are due and payable within 30 days after the date of assessment, would require the feepayer to deliver a remittance of the amount of the assessed fee to the department within that 30-day period, and would make conforming changes. The hazardous waste control laws, in addition to the fees described above, impose various charges and fees on generators of hazardous waste and organizations that use, generate, store, or conduct activities in the state related to hazardous waste. Existing law specifies that those charges and fees are due and payable to the department either on the last day of the second month following the end of the calendar year or in two equal installments, on or before November 30 and February 28, of each fiscal year, depending on the nature of the charge or fee. However, existing law also includes language making those charges and fees due and payable within 30 days after the date of assessment and requiring the feepayer to deliver a remittance of the amount of the assessed fee or charge to the department within that 30-day period. This bill would state that the language making those charges and fees due and payable to the department within 30 days after the date of assessment and requiring the remittance within that 30-day period is inoperative on the effective date of the bill, and would repeal the language on January 1, 2023. (10) Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, sets forth the emergency powers of the Governor under its provisions and empowers the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency for certain conditions, including drought. Existing law authorizes specified state agencies, subject to an appropriation for these purposes, to make grants and direct expenditures for interim or immediate relief in response to conditions arising from a drought scenario to address immediate impacts on human health and safety and on fish and wildlife resources and to provide water to persons or communities that lose or are threatened with the loss or contamination of water supplies. Existing law defines "interim or immediate relief" for purposes of these provisions to include specified types of relief and provides that eligible costs for interim or immediate relief include technical assistance, site acquisitions, and costs directly related to the provision of the project. Existing law repeals these provisions as of January 1, 2024. This bill would additionally include in the definition of "interim or immediate relief" certain activities to increase water conservation and drought resilience planning. The bill would also include post-performance monitoring as an eligible cost for interim or immediate relief. (11) Existing law imposes various limitations on the emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution and as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law also recognizes hexavalent chromium as a toxic substance in drinking water and packaging. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature, upon an appropriation in the Budget Act for the 2023–24 fiscal year for these purposes, to enact future legislation that would make $10,000,000 available to the board to assist with the necessary transition away from the use of hexavalent chromium. The bill would state the further intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would make this funding available upon the board's adoption of an air emission rule to fully eliminate hexavalent chromium at all decorative and functional chromium plating facilities and chromic acid anodizing facilities statewide and to allocate funds to further customer awareness and acceptance of trivalent chromium plated projects and to further technology, as specified. (12) The Budget Act of 2021 made appropriations for the support of state government for the 2021–22 fiscal year. This bill would amend the Budget Act of 2021 by amending items of appropriation and making other changes. There exists in state government the Department of Water Resources, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Conservation, the State Department of Social Services, the State Air Resources Board, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Existing law vests these agencies with various powers and duties related to state government. This bill would allocate $787,497,000, including $534,000,000 from the General Fund and $253,497,000 from the California Emergency Relief Fund, as provided, to the Department of Water Resources, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Conservation, and the State Department of Social Services for various projects relating to public resources, as specified. This bill would allocate $619,000,000 from the General Fund, as provided, to the State Air Resources Board and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for various projects related to zero-emissions vehicles, as specified. This bill would allocate $30,000,000 from the General Fund, as provided, to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for projects and programs that support wildfire and forest resilience, as specified. (13) This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to allocate $2,415,000,000 for the 2023–24 fiscal year to the 2025–26 fiscal year, inclusive, as provided, for zero-emission vehicle investments, as provided. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that $500,000,000 be available for the 2023–24 fiscal year and that amount be available for the 2024–25 fiscal year, as provided, to support various climate initiatives. (14) This bill would provide that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, certain amounts of money are to be available in certain fiscal years to various state agency for the implementation of certain programs. (15) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. (16) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.