Agriculture

AB 823 — Oppose
Two-Year Bill

AB 823, by Assembly Member Susan Eggman, would establish the California Farmland Protection Act which would set forth minimum statewide mitigation requirements for projects that convert agricultural land to a permanent or long-term nonagricultural use, including residential, commercial, civic, industrial, infrastructure, or other similar land development projects. Discussions regarding alternative and workable approaches to AB 823 are currently underway between the sponsors of AB 823, CSAC and other local government representatives.  

Forestry 

AB 744 (Gordon & Dahle) — Support
Chapter 647, Statutes of 2013 
 
AB 744, by Assembly Members Gordon and Dahle, establishes the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption which would allow trees with up to a 24-inch diameter to be harvested for the purpose of fuel reduction under the Forest Fire Prevention Exemption. The pilot project is valid for the Sierra Nevada Region, including Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties.

Mining

SB 447 (Lara) – Support
Chapter 417, Statutes of 2013

SB 447, by Senator Ricardo Lara allows mine operators who are not in compliance with the state mining laws to remain on the “AB 3098 list” if they have entered into an order to comply with the lead agency or the department to correct any violations that may have occurred during an operation. This measure also requires the department to submit to the Legislature a report on the activities of lead agencies and surface mining operations. 

State Responsibility Area Fee

AB 23 (Donnelly) – Support
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
AB 124 (Morrell) – Support
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
AB 23, by Assembly Member Tim Donnelly and AB 124, by Assembly Member Mike Morrell, would have repealed the State’s controversial state responsibility areas (SRA) fire prevention fee. 

Solid Waste

SB 254 (Hancock and Correa) – Support
Chapter 388, Statutes of 2013
 
SB 254, by Senators Loni Hancock and Lou Correa, would require manufacturers of mattresses to develop, finance, and implement a convenient and cost-effective plan to recover and recycle used mattresses generated in this state.  
 
SB 405 (Padilla) – Support
Failed Passage
 
SB 405, by Senator Alex Padilla, would have prohibited stores that have a specified amount of dollar sales or retail floor space from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer. In addition, SB 405 would have imposed these prohibitions and requirements on convenience food stores, food marts, and certain other specified stores.
 
SB 727 (Jackson) – Support
Two-Year Bill
 
SB 727, by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, would require the producers of pharmaceuticals to develop and implement a collection system with oversight by CalRecycle.
 
SB 804 (Lara) – Support
Vetoed
 
SB 804, by Senator Ricardo Lara, the CSAC/LA County co-sponsored measure on biomass and conversion technology, was vetoed. This bill would have added conversion technologies to the definition of biomass, enabling the use of thermal, chemical and biological technologies to process biomass material, establishing a clear regulatory pathway for these technologies, while providing them the same incentives afforded to traditional biomass combustion facilities in state law.
 
AB 158 (Levine) – Support
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
AB 158, by Assembly Member Mark Levine, would have phased-out the use of single-use bags at certain retailers and place requirements on reusable bags.
 
AB 323 (Chesbro) – Oppose Unless Amended
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
AB 323, by Assembly Member Chesbro, would have required the Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to adopt regulations to provide that, no later than January 1, 2020, the use of green material as alternative daily cover (ADC) does not constitute diversion through recycling and would be considered disposal. In addition, AB 323 would have required Cal Recycle by 2017 to develop regulations to mandate the source separation of organics for large commercial organics generators.
 
AB 403 (Stone) – Support
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
AB 403, by Assembly Member Mark Stone, would have allowed producers of medical sharps (needles) to create, finance and manage a collection system for California consumers to safely and conveniently dispose of home-generated used sharps.
 
AB 488 (Williams) – Support
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
AB 488, by Assembly Member Das Williams, would have required a producer of single-use primary household batteries or a single-use primary household battery stewardship organization to create product stewardship plans for household batteries.
 
AB 513 (Frazier) – Support
Chapter 499, Statutes of 2013
 
AB 513, by Assembly Member Jim Frazier, would establish the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Market Development Act and require the Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (Cal Recycle) to award grants to cities, counties, and other local government agencies for the funding of public works projects that utilize rubberized asphalt concrete.
 
AB 1337 (Allen) – Oppose
Failed Passage
 
AB 1337, by Assembly Member Travis Allen, would have prohibited cities and counties from placing a fee on, or banning single-use plastic bags.  

Medical Marijuana 

AB 604 (Ammiano) – Oppose
Failed Passage
 
AB 604, by Assembly Member Tom Ammiano and co-authored by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Senator Mark Leno, would have established a comprehensive structure for regulating the cultivation, production, and distribution of medical marijuana products.  In addition, the bill would have created a new regulatory agency under the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to oversee the medical marijuana industry.  
 
SB 439 (Steinberg) – Oppose
Two-Year Bill
 
SB 439, by Senator Darrell Steinberg, would exempt medical-marijuana collectives and cooperatives from criminal liability for possession, cultivation, possession for sale, sale, transport, importation, and furnishing marijuana, as well as, for maintaining a place, or knowingly providing a place for selling or furnishing marijuana.  

Environmental Justice

AB 1330 – Concerns
Two-Year Bill
 
AB 1330, by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, would double the maximum civil, criminal and administrative penalties for violations of hazardous waste laws, air pollution control laws for stationary sources, and solid waste facilities, where the facility is located in a community that is defined as an “environmental justice community” and the violation increases emissions or discharges above the permitted level. The bill specifically targets enforcement of businesses in the top 15% of environmental justice communities.

Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley – Flood/Land Use

AB 1259 (Olsen) – Support
Chapter No. 246, Statutes of 2013
 
AB 1259, by Assembly Member Kristin Olsen, would make clarifying changes to statues enacted as part of the flood protection package signed into law in 2007.  Additional clean-up is expected next year.  

Metal Theft

AB 841 (Torres) – Support
Vetoed
 
AB 841, by former Assembly Member and now Senator Norma Torres, would have expanded law enforcement’s capacity to deal with the metal theft epidemic by requiring recyclers to issue check payments for copper recycling.  
 
AB 909 (Gray) – Support
Vetoed
 
AB 909, by Assembly Member Adam Gray, would have required, on or after January 1, 2015, the Department of Justice to establish the Metal Theft Task Force Program (MTTFP).   The proposed program would be voluntary and would provide grants to regional task forces to provide local law enforcement and district attorneys with the tools and funding necessary to deter, investigate, and prosecute metal theft and related metal theft crimes.  

Drinking Water

AB 145 (Perea) – Watch
Held in Senate Appropriations Committee
 
AB 145, by Assembly Member Henry Perea, would have transfered the duties and responsibilities related to the regulation and oversight of drinking water, from the Department of Public Health (DPH) to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).  
Fairs
 
SB 741(Cannella) – Support
Two-Year Bill
 
SB 741, by Senator Anthony Cannella, would amend existing law governing the operation, oversight, and funding of the network of California fairs. 

Climate Change

AB 416 (Gordon) – Support
Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
 
AB 416, by Assembly Member Rich Gordon, would have established a competitive grant program from Cap and Trade funds for local governments to fund projects that develop and implement greenhouse gas emission reductions at the local level.  
 
Proposition 39 — California Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2012
 
AB 39 – Support if Amended
Senate Inactive File
 
AB 39, by Assembly Member Skinner and Speaker John A. Perez, would have allocated 75% of funds for grants to schools K-12, and 11% of that going to community colleges; and, 25% of funds dedicated to K-14 for low-interest or no-interest revolving loans, or loan loss reserve programs for five years with other public buildings eligible for loans and financing at fiscal year 2016-17.
 
SB 64 (Corbett) – Support
Two-Year Bill
 
SB 64, by Senator Ellen Corbett, would have helped to implement Prop. 39 by requiring the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (CEC) to develop and administer programs to provide financial assistance to school districts and cities and counties to install energy efficiency and clean energy technology projects for their facilities.