October 6, 2022

Friday, September 30, was the deadline for Governor Gavin Newsom to sign or veto the over 1,100 bills passed by the Legislature this session. Per usual, many of these bills awaited action up until the last few days before the deadline and in the end the Governor signed 997 and vetoed 169 pieces of legislation.

The following is an update on major bills of interest or concern for key county policy areas.

Agriculture, Environment, & Natural Resources

For additional questions, please contact Catherine Freeman or Ada Waelder.

AB 2247 (Bloom) PFAS Product Disclosure

AB 2247 would require anyone manufacturing products containing perfluorinated or polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) to report their products to the Department of Toxic Substances Control. This requirement would go into effect in 2026. PFAS are a group of around 9,000 man-made products used in many household and industrial products. These chemicals do not breakdown, and thus have been called “forever chemicals.” PFAS have been found in the blood of humans and animals, soil, water, and air, and linked to harmful health impacts. CSAC supported AB 2247 and it was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 2550 (Arambula) State Air Resources Board: San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District: nonattainment

AB 2550 would remove local control from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District by transferring responsibility to regulate stationary pollution sources to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB already has the authority to oversee local air quality management activities, and works closely in the development of air pollution plans. CSAC opposed AB 2550, and it was vetoed by the Governor.

Administration of Justice

For additional information, please contact Ryan Morimune or Stanicia Boatner.

Bills Signed by Governor Newsom:

Assembly Bill 1744 (Levine) Probation and mandatory supervision: flash incarceration

This measure will extend authorization for the use of flash incarceration for individuals on probation or mandatory supervision until January 1, 2028. AB 1744 would allow for the continued ability to use flash incarceration as a graduated response for individuals on felony probation and mandatory supervision that was previously authorized via AB 597 (Levine), Chapter 44, Statutes of 2019, and SB 266 (Block), Chapter 706, Statutes of 2016. Further, AB 1744 will maintain current requirements in statute to allow an individual to decline flash incarceration and request a court revocation hearing, as well as a notification to the court and public defender upon imposition of flash incarceration. Graduated responses such as flash incarceration, allow for violations of court-ordered conditions to be addressed in a manner that balances safety considerations while maintaining continuity and engagement in rehabilitative services and support. CSAC supported AB 1744. AB 1744 was signed by the Governor on September 29, 2022.

Assembly Bill 1803 (Jones-Sawyer) Court fees: ability to pay

This measure exempts a person who meets the criteria for a waiver of court fees and costs from being obligated to pay the filing fee for specified expungement petitions, and prohibits a court from denying expungement relief to an otherwise qualified person, and who meets the criteria, as specified, for a waiver of court fees and costs, solely on the basis that the person has not yet satisfied their restitution obligations. AB 1803 was signed by the Governor on September 23, 2022.

Assembly Bill 2023 (Bennett) Jails: discharge plans

This measure will require a sheriff to make the release standards, release processes, and release schedules of a county jail available to incarcerated persons. Also, the measure will grant a person incarcerated in, or recently released from, a county jail up to 3 free telephone calls from a telephone in the county jail to plan for a safe and successful release. AB 2023 was signed by the Governor on September 15, 2022.

Assembly Bill 2321 (Jones-Sawyer) Juveniles: room confinement

Current law places restrictions on the use of room confinement of minors or wards who are confined in a juvenile facility and requires the placement of a minor or ward in room confinement to be conducted in accordance with specified guidelines. Current law excludes from the definition of room confinement, the confinement of a minor or ward in a single-person room or cell for brief periods of locked room confinement necessary for required institutional operations. This measure will limit that exclusion to periods of confinement no longer than 2 hours. The measure will also require minors and wards who are confined to be provided reasonable access to toilets at all hours. AB 2321 was signed by the Governor on September 29, 2022.

Assembly Bill 2417 (Ting) Juveniles: Youth Bill of Rights

This measure makes the state Youth Bill of Rights applicable to youth confined in any local juvenile justice facility. Further, it will require the ombudsperson to notify any complainant in writing of the intention to investigate or refer the complaint for investigation. The measure will also require the ombudsperson to provide written notice of the final outcome of a complaint. Lastly, the measure will require data published and provided to the Legislature by the ombudsperson to be disaggregated by gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity of the complainants to the extent this information is available. AB 2417 was signed by the Governor on September 29, 2022.

Assembly Bill 2644 (Holden) Custodial interrogation

This measure prohibits an officer from using threats, physical harm, deception, or psychologically manipulative interrogation tactics when questioning a person 17 years of age or younger about the commission of a felony or misdemeanor. AB 2644 was signed by the Governor on September 13, 2022.

Senate Bill 990 (Hueso) Corrections: county of release

This measure will make changes to the factors which determine placement and transfers for those on parole or post release community supervision (PRCS). It specifies that educational, vocational, and housing programs are factors that must be considered and absent evidence that a parole transfer would present a threat to public safety, an individual can choose a location with verified programs, family support, a job offer, inpatient or outpatient treatment, or housing outside of their county of commitment. This measure has a delayed implementation date of January 2024, and the final version only encourages and authorizes that probation extend the bill’s provisions on parole to those on post release community supervision. SB 990 was signed by the Governor on September 29, 2022.

Senate Bill 1008 (Becker) Corrections: communications

This measure will require that a state prison, or a state, county, or city youth residential placement or detention center provide voice communication services to incarcerated persons free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the communication. Also, this measure will prohibit a county, city, or state agency from receiving revenue for the provision of communication services to persons in its custody. SB 1008 was signed by the Governor on September 29, 2022.

Senate Bill 1223 (Becker) Criminal procedure: mental health diversion

This measure will change the eligibility criteria when a court grants pretrial diversion for an individual, to include a diagnosis of a mental disorder instead of the court finding the defendant suffers from a mental disorder and would require that the diagnosis or treatment for a diagnosed mental disorder be within the last 5 years. Also, this measure will define “qualified mental health expert” for these purposes. Lastly, the measure will require the court, if a defendant has been diagnosed with a mental disorder, to find that the defendant’s mental disorder was a significant factor in the commission of a charged offense unless there is clear and convincing evidence that it was not a motivating factor, causal factor, or contributing factor to the alleged offense. SB 1223 was signed by the Governor on September 29, 2022.

Bills Vetoed by Governor Newsom:

Assembly Bill 503 (Stone) Wards: probation

This measure would have (1) limited the period of time in which a court may place a ward of the court on probation to six months, except that a court may extend probation in six month increments upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence that it is in the best interest of the ward; (2) required that the conditions of probation be individually tailored, developmentally appropriate, and reasonable; and (3) required that the burden imposed by the probation conditions must be proportional to the legitimate interests served by the conditions. AB 503 was vetoed by the Governor on September 29, 2022. The Governor’s veto message can be found here.

Assembly Bill 2632 (Holden) Segregated confinement

This measure would have limited the use of segregated confinement and requires specified facilities in the state in which individuals are subject to confinement or involuntary detention to follow specified procedures related to segregated confinement. AB 2632 was vetoed by the Governor on September 29, 2022. The Governor’s veto message can be found here.

Government Finance & Administration (GFA)

For additional questions, please contact Geoff Neill, Ryan Souza, or Brian Cote.

Bills Signed by Governor Newsom:

Broadband

AB 2256 (Quirk-Silva) Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy: reports

This bill, which was co-sponsored by CSAC, adds two local government officials to the Middle-Mile Advisory Committee – one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one appointed by the Senate Rules Committee. Including representatives from local government is important to ensuring the success of a statewide middle-mile network, providing a perspective different from the many state representatives on the committee, and serving as a liaison between the committee and local officials around the state who know the needs and gaps within their communities. Governor Newsom signed AB 2256 on September 29.

Brown Act

AB 2449 (Rubio) Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences

This bill, until January 1, 2026, authorizes members of a legislative body of a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with the requirements that their teleconference location be identified in the agenda and that it be made accessible to the public. To qualify, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body must participate in person from a single location that is open to the public and members of the public must also be allowed to participate remotely. The member would also need to provide just cause or be participating remotely due to emergency circumstances, which must be approved by the legislative body, among other requirements. This bill was signed by Governor Newsom on September 13.

AB 2647 (Levine) Local government: open meetings

A recent court decision held that posting meeting material online does not satisfy the Brown Act that local governments must place physical copies of the document in a designated office open to the public at the same time it is provided to members of a legislative body. This measure exempts local agencies from making materials available for public inspection at the time they distribute them to members of the legislative body less than 72 hours before the meeting, if the agency meets specified requirements. As part of a coalition with other local government stakeholders, CSAC supported this measure, which was signed by Governor Newsom on September 30.

Labor, Pensions, and Personnel

AB 2188 (Quirk) Discrimination in employment: use of cannabis

Effective January 1, 2024, this measure makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring or any term or condition of employment, if the discrimination is based upon the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace or an employer-required drug screening test that has found the person to have non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their urine, hair, or bodily fluids. After CSAC and a coalition of public and private employers lobbied to mitigate impacts, aiming to make this treated like alcohol in workplace – the legislation made amendments including that this bill does not prohibit an employer from pre-employment screening through methods that do not screen for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites, that the bill does not preempt state or federal laws requiring employees to be tested for controlled substances as a condition of employment, and that certain applicants and employees are exempted from this bill’s provisions, including individuals requiring a federal background investigation or clearance or those in the building and construction trades, as specified. Governor Newsom signed this bill on September 18.

AB 2243 (E. Garcia) Occupational safety and health standards: heat illness: wildfire smoke

This bill requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to revise and submit heat illness prevention and wildfire smoke standards to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. This measure also reduces the air quality index level at which respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to increase protections of outdoor workers exposed to wildfire smoke and requires employers to distribute prevention plan materials. CSAC and a coalition of private and public stakeholders withdrew opposition after engaging with the author and securing amendments aimed to mitigate impacts to employers while balancing the importance of employee health. Governor Newsom signed this bill on September 29.

AB 2693 (Reyes) COVID-19: exposure

This bill extends the sunset date by one year (until January 1, 2024), on COVID-19 related workplace reporting requirements and for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s authority to disable an operation or process at a place of employment when the risk of COVID-19 infection creates an imminent hazard. This bill revises and COVID-19 exposure reporting provisions to require employers to display a notice with information on confirmed COVID-19 cases at the worksite and authorizes employers to post this information on an employer portal or continue to provide it in writing or email. CSAC and a broad coalition of public and private stakeholders worked to secure amendments including shortening the sunset date and to ameliorate the administrative impacts that were included in prior versions of this measure. Governor Newsom signed this bill on September 29.

SB 931 (Leyva) Deterring union membership: violations

This bill requires the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to impose civil penalties of up to $1,000 for each affected employee, not to exceed $100,000 in total, on public employers if it finds the employers deterred or discouraged employees from exercising collective bargaining rights. Additionally, this measure requires employers to pay attorney’s fees unless PERB finds the claim to be frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless. CSAC opposed this bill on the basis that this new authority may expose public entities, even those acting in good faith, to significant new liability and fails to equitably provide attorney’s fees and costs to either prevailing party, including the employer. SB 931 was signed by Governor Newsom on September 29, and CSAC will now work to assist counties to prevent financial penalties.

SB 1044 (Durazo) Employers: emergency condition: retaliation

This bill prohibits an employer, in the event of an emergency condition (does not include a health pandemic), as defined, from taking or threatening an adverse action against any employee (except for specified emergency response workers, including disaster service workers, first responders, private entities that contract with public employers, among others) for refusing to report to, or leaving, a workplace within the affected area because the employee has a reasonable belief that the workplace is unsafe. This bill also prohibits an employer from preventing an employee, with some exceptions, from accessing the employee’s mobile device or other communications device to seek emergency assistance, assessing the safety of the situation, or communicating with a person to verify their safety. This bill was signed by Governor Newsom on September 29.

Workers’ Compensation

AB 1751 (Daly) Workers’ compensation: COVID-19: critical workers

This bill extends the sunset date of the workers’ compensation COVID-19 presumptions by one year, until January 1, 2024. CSAC and a broad coalition of public and private employer organizations worked diligently with the author to secure amendments that reduced the extension by one year (previous versions of the measure would have extended the sunset until January 1, 2025). Governor Newsom signed AB 1751 on September 29.

SB 1127 (Atkins) Workers’ compensation: liability presumptions

This bill reduces the timeframe for employers to investigate workers’ compensation claims, increases penalties on employers for “unreasonably” denying claims, and significantly increases the duration of temporary disability for cancer presumption claims. Although CSAC, as part of a broad coalition of public employers secured amendments to reverse some of the proposed shortened timelines, CSAC continued to opposed SB 1127 on the basis that it shortens the timeframe for employers to investigate rebuttal presumption claims, imposes significant penalties on county employers in certain circumstances, and doubles the duration of temporary disability benefits. Governor Newsom signed SB 1127 on September 29, and CSAC will continue to engage in efforts to mitigate any potential financial burden and liability that is placed on counties.

General Government

AB 2463 (Lee) Public works: exemption

This bill extends, until January 1, 2031, the sunset date on the prevailing wage exemption for public works projects performed by volunteers, volunteer coordinators, and members of the California Conservation Corps or community conservation corps. CSAC and a coalition of local government stakeholders supported this measure, which was signed by Governor Newsom on August 29.

SB 1131 (Newman) Address confidentiality: public entity employees and contractors

This bill authorizes specified public entity employees who face threats of violence or harassment because of their work to apply for the California Secretary of State’s Safe at Home Program. Administered by the California Secretary of State, the Safe at Home Program provides a substitute mailing address that is accepted by California state, county, and city government agencies in lieu of a residential or other mailing address whereby a home address can be tracked down. CSAC supported this measure, which was signed by Governor Newsom on September 26.

SB 1439 (Glazer) Campaign contributions: agency officers

This bill prohibits local government agency officers from accepting, soliciting, or directing a contribution of more than $250 from anyone while a proceeding involving their license, permit, or other entitlement for use is pending before the agency, or for 12 months following such a decision. This bill also provides a process for the local government agency officer to cure the violation, subject to specified requirements. Governor Newsom signed SB 1439 on September 29.

Bills Vetoed by Governor Newsom:

Labor, Pensions, and Personnel

SB 1313 (Hertzberg) Local public employee organizations: health benefits: discrimination

This bill would have prohibited the County of Los Angeles from providing an employee represented by an employee organization with a health benefit plan that provides fewer benefits than health plans offered to employees not represented by an employee organization. CSAC opposed this measure on the basis that directives such as those included in SB 1313 may create unprecedented costs and create severe downstream effects on future bargaining benefits as counties attempt to balance the collective bargaining process with the unknown aspect that the Legislature may intervene and require a different level or application of benefits not bargained for. Governor Newsom vetoed SB 1313 expressing concerns that it would codify the setting of local benefits and result in significant costs to the state.

Workers’ Compensation

SB 284 (Stern) Workers’ compensation: firefighters and peace officers: post-traumatic stress

This bill would have expanded an existing industrial injury presumption for a diagnosis of a post-traumatic stress disorder for peace officers and firefighters to additional safety and non-sworn personnel including public safety dispatchers, public safety telecommunicators, and emergency response communication employees, along with a number of additional state agencies. While recognizing that both sworn and non-sworn personnel need access to the workers’ compensation system, CSAC and a broad coalition of local government stakeholders opposed this expansion on the basis that SB 284 lacks any relevant data that the current system is inaccessible or not working appropriately to provide California employees with fair access to the workers’ compensation system. Governor Newsom vetoed SB 284, citing its potential to destabilize the workers’ compensation system going forward.

General Government

AB 2677 (Gabriel) Information Practices Act of 1977

This bill would have made several changes to the Information Practices Act of 1977, including expanding the definition of personal information to include information that is reasonably capable of identifying an individual, prohibiting an agency from using records containing personal information for any purposes other than those for which the personal information was collected or generated, and adjusting penalties for violations of the law to include employee discipline for negligent violations and to eliminate injury-in-fact requirements for intentional disclosures of sensitive information. CSAC removed its opposition to AB 2677 due to amendments that removed the bill’s applicability to local agencies. AB 2677 was vetoed by Governor Newson, citing fiscal concerns to implement across multiple state agencies.

Health and Human Services

For additional information, please contact Justin Garrett, Jolie Onodera, or Danielle Bradley.

Bills Signed by Governor Newsom

AB 988 (Bauer-Kahan) Mental health: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

This measure implements a statewide 9-8-8 suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline as required by federal law. As part of that implementation, the measure requires the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a state 988 advisory group consisting of various participants, including county representatives, to advise the Agency on a set of recommendations to support a five-year implementation plan. To support ongoing costs, the measure establishes a new surcharge initially set at $0.08 per access line per month, and beginning January 1, 2025, at an amount specified by formula to be capped at $0.30 per access line per month. Now that AB 988 has been signed by Governor Newsom, CSAC will continue to advocate for sufficient funding as the 988 system is developed and implemented, including adequate resources to operate mobile crisis teams and serve the expected influx of clients into the county specialty mental health system.

AB 1051 (Bennett) Medi-Cal: specialty mental health services: foster children

This measure requires the county of original jurisdiction for a foster child or probation-supervised youth to maintain responsibility for the arrangement of specialty mental health services (SMHS) when the youth is placed out of the county in a treatment facility, group home, or short-term residential therapeutic program unless specified circumstances exist. AB 1051 was signed by Governor Newsom on September 19.

AB 2275 (Wood and Stone) Mental health: involuntary commitment

As previously reported, this bill was introduced as a solution to issues raised in the Assembly Health and Judiciary Committees’ joint informational hearing on the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS) in December 2021. The measure clarifies that the 72-hours of detention under a LPS 5150 involuntary hold begins at the time when the person is first detained. The bill also specifies timelines for holding a certification review hearing when a person is certified for intensive treatment and requires that a person be advised of rights to a hearing when they are detained. AB 2275 was signed by Governor Newsom last week.

SB 929 (Eggman) Community mental health services: data collection

This measure was one of the eight bills in Senator Eggman’s package of legislation focusing on improving access to behavioral health care, as previously reported on this summer. SB 929 expands the Department of Health Care Services’ responsibility to collect and publish information about involuntary detentions, as established by the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act. SB 929 was signed by Governor Newsom last week.

SB 1054 (Ochoa Bogh) Public social services: records: confidentiality: multidisciplinary personnel teams

CSAC supported SB 1054, which will allow county multidisciplinary teams from Adult Protective Services and Child Welfare services to share relevant information across programs during investigations. In some situations, households have been identified by both programs and this sharing of information would allow for better protection of those at risk of abuse and neglect. SB 1054 was signed by Governor Newsom on September 23.

SB 1090 (Hurtado) Family Urgent Response System

This measure clarifies the populations of youth that are eligible for the Family Urgent Response System (FURS), which was established in 2019 to provide de-escalation and behavioral support interventions for foster youth and their caregiver in times of need. SB 1090 clarifies that youth who are the subject of a petition, voluntary agreement, or who have been emancipated will also be eligible for FURS services. CSAC supported SB 1090, which was signed by Governor Newsom last week.

SB 1342 (Bates) Aging multidisciplinary personnel teams

Sponsored by Orange County, SB 1342 will authorize counties and area agencies on aging to create aging multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) to allow for information sharing among entities providing services to older adults. Modeled off the homelessness MDTs authorized by 2017 legislation, these aging services MDTs would improve service delivery, increase coordination, and support integrated case management. CSAC supported SB 1342, which was signed by Governor Newsom last week.

Bills Vetoed by Governor Newsom

AB 2144 (Ramos) Mental health: information sharing

This measure sought to improve data collection on those detained under a 72-hour involuntary hold by requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to share information with the Department of Health Care Services regarding individuals detained under involuntary holds who are subject to restrictions related to firearms. Governor Newsom vetoed AB 2144 last week, citing a lack of a workable framework for exchanging information between local entities and state agencies.

SB 1238 (Eggman) Behavioral health services: existing and projected needs

This measure was one of the eight bills in Senator Eggman’s package of legislation focusing on improving access to behavioral health care, as previously reported on this summer. SB 1238 would have required the Department of Health Care Services to consult with local governments to review and report on the current and projected behavioral health care infrastructure needs in each region of the state every five years. Governor Newsom vetoed SB 1238 last week, citing a lack of detail which would result in significant implementation challenges and unbudgeted costs.

Housing, Land Use & Transportation

For additional questions, please contact Mark Neuburger or Kristina Gallagher.

An earlier update on the signing of AB 1932 (Daly) was included in the following edition of the CSAC Bulletin:

• Governor Signs CSAC-Sponsored AB 1932 – California State Association of Counties

Bills Signed by Governor Newsom:

SB 1121 (Gonzalez) State and local transportation system: needs assessment

The bill requires the California Transportation Commission (CTC), in consultation with the California Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), to prepare a needs assessment of the cost to operate, maintain and provide for the necessary future growth of the state and local transportation system. The needs assessment required by SB 1121 would provide important information necessary to identify anticipated revenue to cover the cost of the needs identified, along with information on funding shortfalls and how those gaps should be addressed. Additionally, needs assessments can be a helpful tool in clarifying and identifying transportation goals, identifying tradeoffs (for instance, the fundamental tradeoff between capital improvements or expansion and system preservation) and encouraging alignment across agencies and programs. CSAC supported this measure. SB 1121 was signed by the Governor on September 23^rd (Chapter 508, Statutes of 2022).

AB 916 (Salas) Zoning: bedroom addition

The bill would have originally increased the height maximum of ADU’s from 16 to 18 feet on all parcels and to 25 feet for multifamily or single-family parcel located within a half mile of transit. This bill would have added a provision that would have set a minimum height requirement of 25 feet for ADUs that are attached to a primary single-family residence and mandated the approval of two additional bedrooms per dwelling unit. The bill was amended on August 22^nd removing any height increases to ADUs in the bill. As amended, the bill would prohibit a city or county legislative body from adopting or enforcing an ordinance requiring a public hearing as a condition of reconfiguring existing space to increase the bedroom count within an existing dwelling unit. CSAC removed its opposition to this measure and became neutral. AB 916 was signed by the Governor on September 28^th (Chapter 635, Statutes of 2022).

AB 2234 (Rivas) Planning and zoning: housing: postentitlement phase permits

This bill establishes time limits for approval and requires online permitting of postentitlement permits. Specifically, this bill requires local agencies to complete review, either return in writing a full set of comments to the applicant with a comprehensive request for revisions or return the approved permit application, and electronically notify the applicant of its determination within 30 business days of the application being complete for housing development projects with 25 units or fewer; or 60 business days of the application being complete for housing development projects with 26 units or more. We are concerned with the provisions requiring electronic permitting and the ability of local governments to effectively review applications. CSAC and a broad coalition of organizations had an oppose unless amended position on this bill. AB 2234 was signed by the Governor on September 28^th (Chapter 651, Statutes of 2022).

SB 897 (Wieckowski) Accessory dwelling units: junior accessory dwelling units

This bill increases the height maximum of ADU’s from 16 to 18 feet for parcels with an existing multistory building or 20 feet for a multifamily or single-family parcel located within a half mile of transit. This bill also adds a provision which sets a minimum height requirement of 25 feet for ADUs that are attached to a primary single-family residence. We are concerned that the bill creates a confusing standard and in certain instances would substantially alter the look and feel of a community as SB 897 creates a nuance where ADUs could conceivably be equal in size or larger than the primary residence as it creates a minimum height requirement of 25 feet by permitting ADUs and jr. ADUs to be attached to the primary residence. CSAC and a coalition of organizations opposed this measure. SB 897 was signed by the Governor on September 28^th (Chapter 664, Statutes of 2022).

SB 932 (Portantino) General plans: circulation element: bicycle and pedestrian plans and traffic calming plans

This bill requires every city and county to develop and implement bicycle plans, pedestrian plans, and traffic calming plans upon a substantive revision of the circulation element. Originally, the bill would have exposed many local governments to a new legal liability that was likely to result in significant litigation costs to defend and settle. As agreed, the proposed amendments removed the language on the private right of action, and made clarifying and technical amendments to include specific principles included in the Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System Approach; ensured goals and implementation are subject to local conditions and funding; incorporated specific projects in implementation plans rather than the General Plan; and removed inapplicable references to the Transportation Agency’s Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force Report, the State Local Partnership Program, the Surface Transportation Block Grant, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. CSAC removed its opposition based on amendments taken by the author and became neutral. SB 932 was signed by the Governor on September 28^th (Chapter 710, Statutes of 2022).

SB 948 (Becker) Housing finance programs: development reserves

This bill replaces individual project transition reserves for the development of affordable housing to a pooled reserve model, as specified, operated by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Specifically, the bill creates the Pooled Transition Reserve Fund to be operated by HCD and will continuously appropriate funding into that fund for the purpose of maintaining a pooled transition reserve to mitigate the impacts on tenant rents from the loss or exhaustion of rental or operating subsidies. SB 948 also authorizes HCD to charge a fee to a development that receives qualified project rental or operating subsidies at the time of permanent loan closing, to be deposited into the fund. CSAC supported this measure. SB 948 was signed by the Governor on September 28^th (Chapter 667, Statutes of 2022).

AB 2953 (Salas) Department of Transportation and local agencies: streets and highways: recycled materials

This bill requires local governments above an identified population to adopt specified California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recycled material standards unless certain criteria is met. CSAC worked with the author’s office on amendments that removes the provision using annual average revenues for determining which local jurisdictions would be exempt from adopting the standards set forth by AB 2953, but rather use population, one hundred thousand (100,000) for counties and twenty-five thousand (25,000) for cities to determine which local jurisdictions would be exempted from using the updated standards. Furthermore, these proposed amendments addressed the significant cost pressures on local jurisdictions as highlighted in the governor’s veto message of AB 1035 (2021). In light of the amendments taken, CSAC removed its opposition to this measure. AB 2953 was signed by the Governor on September 30^th (Chapter 872, Statutes of 2022).

SB 922 (Wiener) California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions: transportation-related projects

The bill exempts various types of qualifying transportation projects that are vital to meeting California’s transportation greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Importantly for California’s counties, who are responsible for transportation facilities in unincorporated communities that range from highly urban to very rural, this bill expands a tailored set of exemptions offered under existing law to apply to transportation projects in both rural and urban communities. CSAC supported the bill. SB 922 was signed by the Governor on September 30^th (Chapter 987, Statutes of 2022).

SCA 2 (Allen) Public housing projects

SCA 2 repeals Article 34 of the California Constitution, which requires development, construction, or acquisition of publicly-funded low-rent housing projects to be approved by a majority of voters in a city or county. Repealing Article 34 eliminates this discriminatory provision from the California Constitution and removes an electoral hurdle for counties that seek to fund affordable homes in their jurisdictions. SCA 2 will ask California voters to remove a limitation on local government’s ability to financially support affordable homes, while maintaining strict voter approval requirements for new taxes or general obligation bonds. CSAC supported SCA 2, which was chaptered on September 13^th and will ultimately be placed on the 2024 state ballot. Since SCA 2 was a Senate Constitutional Amendment, it did not need to be signed by the Governor in order to be chaptered and be placed on the ballot.

Bills Vetoed by Governor Newsom:

AB 2514 (Dahle) State Highway System Management Plan: underserved rural

This bill would have directed California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to include a comprehensive evaluation of transportation in rural counties as part of its State Highway System Management Plan, which would have included a 10-year state highway rehabilitation plan and a 5-year maintenance plan that would have been submitted to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) every two years, during an odd-numbered year, and then transmitted to the Governor and the Legislature during that same odd-numbered year. CSAC was supportive of this measure. AB 2514 was vetoed by the Governor on September 25^th. The veto message can be found here.

SB 1449 (Caballero) Office of Planning and Research: grant program: annexation of unincorporated areas

The bill would have required the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Unincorporated Area Annexation Incentive Program (Program), authorizing the OPR to issue a grant to a city for the purpose of funding infrastructure projects related to the proposed or completed annexation of a substantially surrounded unincorporated area, subject to approval by the director after the city submits an application containing specified information. The bill would have required the OPR to match, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, any dollar contribution a city makes toward a project funded by the program, subject to a maximum funding threshold as determined by the director. The bill would have required the OPR to develop guidelines, and consult with various local representatives including counties, to prepare those guidelines, for purposes of implementing the program, and would have provided that the guidelines would not be subject to the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. CSAC was in support of this measure. SB 1449 was vetoed by the Governor on September 28^th. The veto message can be found here.

AB 2438 (Friedman) Transportation funding: guidelines and plans

This bill would have required various state transportation programs to incorporate strategies from the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) into program guidelines. It would have also required various state agencies to establish new transparency and accountability guidelines for certain transportation funding programs. CSAC removed its opposition to the bill when it was amended to explicitly list the California State Transportation Agency, California Transportation Commission, and California Department of Transportation programs that are the subject of the bill and remove the language that would have made the bill applicable to an open-ended list of programs. AB 2438 was vetoed by the Governor on September 29^th. The veto message can be found here.