Governor Brown Signs Budget Trailer Bills on Cap & Trade and Cannabis
Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 109, AB 134 and AB 103 over the weekend. AB 109 and AB 134 enacted $1.5 billion in GGRF expenditures, while AB 133 made clean up changes to cannabis law originally enacted in SB 94 earlier this year.
PACE Program Improvement Bill Passes Legislature after Tough Scrutiny
On the final night of the legislative session, the Senate and Assembly both held several committee hearings on Assemblymember Dababneh’s AB 1284 before passing the bill out of the Assembly on a final floor vote of 72-0. The bill is now with the Governor for signature or veto. Backed by the Administration, AB 1284 comes after three years of stakeholder meetings with PACE providers, local governments, consumer groups and financial representatives.
Dubbed, the Coalition of the Impossible by some supporters, this group supported AB 1284 but also committed to additional clean-up next year to address a number of outstanding issues. AB 1284 provides a starting point for increased oversight of the PACE program by creating a new licensing requirement for Program Administrators through the Department of Business Oversight, training requirements for employees, and a requirement that Program Administrators assess a homeowner’s ability to pay back an assessment, among other measures.
CSAC supports this measure and others that seek to strengthen the PACE program in California. We are committed to working with all stakeholders to improve state and local government oversight of PACE program administrators.
Amended Recycling Carpet Stewardship Bill Moves to Governor’s Desk
AB 1158 by Assembly Kansen Chu passed off the Assembly Floor on the last day of session to Governor Jerry Brown by a final vote of 52-22. Recent amendments helped the bill gain the support it needed to move through the Legislature. This bill would help divert carpet from landfills by implementing a reasonable target recycle rate of 24% for post-consumer used carpet and makes important changes to the carpet stewardship program. CSAC supports this measure because it will help improve the carpet product stewardship program and our ability to divert this material from landfills.
