2024 Legislative Session End-of-Session Wrap-Up
September 5, 2024
Last week marked an end to the 2023-2024 Legislative Session, which was statutorily required to conclude by midnight on Saturday, August 31. Lawmakers and CSAC staff worked late into the evening during the weeks approaching this final deadline to determine the fate of more than 1,300 bills before the conclusion of the second year of the two-year session.
Many Late Nights for the Legislature
In the days preceding the legislative finale, lawmakers’ collective workload seemed to increase rather than abate. Late-breaking additions to the legislative landscape included reform of the CARE Act program, land use requirements related to warehouses, budget “trailer bills” to amend the 2024 Budget Act, and more. With time running short and many critical issues still on the table, it was widely reported that Governor Newsom was considering declaring a special legislative session to discuss oil and gas policy. With the rejection of the Governor’s oil refinery bill (SB 950, Skinner), the threat to convene a special session materialized this evening, with mixed reception from legislative leadership and overall chagrin from many weary legislative staffers.
Throughout the year, legislative deliberations existed in the gloomy shadow of the state’s budget deficit, with a stern reminder from CSAC advocates that the old Sacramento adage rings true that “this year’s bills are next year’s budget.” In the end, hundreds of bills made it over the final hurdle, returning to the floor for final—and sometimes highly contested—debate. Some of the heightened pressure and strained tone of the final floor debates stems from the upcoming election in November, where many state lawmakers are up for re-election. Ultimately, while they raced to the finish line, tempers in the Assembly flared and indecorous behavior including expletives and fist pounding temporarily overshadowed legislative business. In an attempt to rebound from this, the long night finished well past midnight with rounds of gratitude and members characterizing the evening as “passionate,” “interesting,” and filled with “strong language.”
The Work Continues: CSAC Elevates the County Voice
Working parallel to the Legislature, CSAC advocates followed the progress of bills late into the evening and provided the county perspective at every step along the way. CSAC continues to cut through the noise and advocate for sensible legislation that best supports the Californians that counties and the state collectively serve.
Your CSAC advocacy team remains engaged on a number of these bills that have moved to the Governor’s desk. Governor Newsom has until Monday, September 30 to sign or veto legislation. In these critical weeks, CSAC remains committed to our positions, and will make requests for the Governor to veto or sign legislation as consistent with the best interests of counties. CSAC encourages counties to continue to engage with our advocacy team as we direct our efforts toward the Administration.
Behind the curtain, the Administration is considering the cumulative fiscal impact of the legislation before the Governor, as the state’s Department of Finance is already building the Governor’s 2025-26 budget proposal. It appears that there is no recess where responsible fiscal stewardship of the government of the world’s fifth largest economy is concerned.
If signed, most bills will become effective on January 1, 2025 unless otherwise specified. Notably, the upcoming election in November continues to command significant time and attention from legislative leadership and the Administration. It will be interesting to see how key policy issues are handled in light of national political events.
Herein is an update on how key legislation fared at the end of session. Please reach out to CSAC legislative staff if you have any questions.
ADMINSTRATION OF JUSTICE
Awaiting Governor’s Action
AB 2432 (Gabriel) California Victims of Crime Act
Enrolled on 08/29/24, and awaiting the Governor’s signature, this bill would establish the California Crime Victims Fund (CVF) and would authorizes courts to impose additional fines on corporations convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, known as the corporate white-collar criminal enhancement, with the fines deposited into the California Crime Victims Fund. CSAC supports AB 2432 as it strengthens existing services for crime victims, as well as to help ensure that victim advocates, district attorneys, and other providers have additional resources to conduct critical services.
SB 1400 (Stern) Criminal procedure: competence to stand
POSITION: Oppose Unless Amended
This measure would require hearings for misdemeanor incompetent to stand trial (IST) defendants, and amongst other provisions, would make considerable changes to the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act. County concerns to SB 1400 largely relate to the late-breaking and significant changes to the bill without any county engagement on the proposed new data collection and reporting requirements under the CARE Act. The amendments directly impact county behavioral health agencies by requiring that they report specified data elements for both active and former CARE participants, which creates potentially invasive tracking, alongside increased pressure to county administrative functions. Notably, some of the added requirements are not Medi-Cal reimbursable activities and some of the data counties do not have access to. Given that the bill was substantially amended during final week of session, with no notice given or input sought from counties, further amendments were not possible. CSAC was part of a coalition including UCC, RCRC, and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA) in opposition to SB 1400.
Note: This bill summary and outcome can also be found in the AOJ section, as both policy units worked on this measure.
Signed by the Governor
SB 1144 (Skinner) Marketplaces: online marketplaces
This bill will expand existing definitions to apply to a wider range of sellers and consumers and would ensure that online marketplaces create both a policy that prohibits the sale of stolen goods and a mechanism in which individuals may report the sale of stolen goods. CSAC supports SB 1144 in that it would increase protections for online retailers to mitigate the impacts of retail theft via increasing transparency for consumers and expanding law enforcement response capacity. SB 1144 is a part of the legislature’s bipartisan retail theft bill package, signed into law by Governor Newsom on August 16, 2024.
AGRICULTURE, ENVIROMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Awaiting Governor’s Action
SB 366 (Caballero) The California Water Plan: long-term supply targets
Sponsored by CSAC, this bill would update the California Water Plan and require the Department of Water Resources to develop a long-term water supply planning target for 2050. This bill was approved by both Legislative houses and is currently awaiting Governor’s action.
SB 1101 (Limon) Fire prevention: prescribed fire: state contracts: maps
This bill would require CAL FIRE to use spatial planning tools and comprehensive mapping (“potential operational delineations”) as a tool for strategic wildfire response. This bill was approved by both Legislative houses and is currently awaiting Governor’s action.
AB 2902 (Wood) Solid waste: reduction and recycling
One of CSAC’s top Legislative Priorities in 2024 was addressing the issues that counties face in their efforts to meet the state’s SB 1383 organic waste diversion goals. This bill would extend the existing rural exemption for counties with less than 70,000 residents until January 1, 2037. This bill passed both Legislative houses and is currently awaiting Governor’s action.
AB 3323 (Addis) Oil and gas: operations: restrictions: local authority
This bill would enhance local control over land use and zoning issues, with regards to oil and gas operations. Counties have a vested interest in maintaining their clear authority to govern oil and gas-related land uses throughout their jurisdictions and this bill would clarify in statute that these local powers apply to the regulation of oil and gas production facilities. This bill passed both Legislative houses and is currently awaiting Governor’s action.
Held in Appropriations
SB 610 (Wiener) Fire prevention: wildfire mitigation area: defensible space: State Fire Marshal
This bill would have shifted fire mapping from the Board of Forestry to the State Fire Marshall, and creates a new wildfire mitigation area designation to replace fire hazard severity zones. CSAC held concerns with this bill and proactively advocated for changes in the language if it moved forward. The bill was held in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 2560 (Alvarez) Density Bonus Law: California Coastal Act of 1976
This bill would have required, amongst other things, for local governments in the coastal zone to amend local coastal programs to comply with both the Density Bonus Law and the California Coastal Act. The bill was held in Senate Appropriations.
AB 2223 (Aguiar-Curry) Cannabis: industrial hemp
This bill was intended to address the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products being sold outside the licensed cannabis market by creating a regulatory framework within the Department of Cannabis Control. There was controversy over provisions that would have allowed for the integration of non-intoxicating hemp byproducts (like CBD) into cannabis products, and as a result bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Failed to Meet Deadline
SB 620 (McGuire) Low-impact camping areas
The two-year bill would have defined and created standards for “low-impact camping areas” with an opt-in clause for counties. The bill made it through both houses before narrowly missing the end of session deadline and, therefore, dying in the Legislature.
GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND AMINISTRATION
Awaiting Governor’s Action
AB 2561 (McKinnor) – Local public agencies: vacant positions.
This bill would impose an expensive reimbursable state mandate on thousands of public agencies, requiring every local agency to hold annual public hearings in front of their legislative body regardless of their vacancy rates or size and requires that labor unions have the opportunity to present at the hearing. For agencies that experience a vacancy rate of 20% within a bargaining unit, the bill requires the agency to report on the total number of vacancies within the bargaining unit, the total number of applicants for the vacant positions, the average number of days to complete the hiring process, and opportunities to improve compensation and other working conditions.
AB 884 (Low) – Elections: language accessibility.
POSITION: Oppose Unless Amended
This bill would create a new state-mandated local program by requiring county elections officials to provide specified elections materials in additional languages and provide additional language services. The law was amended late in the session to delay its implementation until January 1, 2028.
AB 2715 (Boerner) – Ralph M. Brown Act: closed sessions.
This bill would authorize local agencies’ governing bodies to convene a closed session to consider or evaluate matters related to cybersecurity.
AB 3025 (Valencia) – County employees’ retirement: disallowed compensation: benefit adjustments.
This bill would place a significant financial burden on county retirement system member agencies by requiring agencies, including counties, cities, and special districts, to pay substantial penalties to employees who have been found to have disallowed compensation, as determined by the so-called Alameda decision ((Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Association v. Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association (2020) ). Employers are required to reimburse pension systems for any overpayment made to retired members (or their survivors and beneficiaries), pay the retired member 20% of their “lost” pension income, and, for active members, requires the system to reimburse the member for any overpayments.
SB 399 (Wahab) – Employer communications: intimidation.
This bill would prohibit an employer from subjecting, or threatening to subject, an employee to any adverse action because the employee declines to attend an employer-sponsored meeting about political or religious matters. The bill passed out of the floor with a promise to fix the bill next year to address concerns expressed by local government associations.
Signed by the Governor
SB 1034 (Seyarto) – California Public Records Act: state of emergency.
This bill amends the definition of “unusual circumstances” in the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to include the need to respond to a CPRA request during an emergency. The Governor signed the measure on July 18 (Chapter 161, Statutes of 2024).
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Awaiting Governor’s Action
AB 1168 (Bennett) Emergency medical services (EMS): prehospital EMS
This bill would overturn extensive legal action to give the City of Oxnard Section .201 rights, fragmenting the EMS system in Ventura County and opening the door for other jurisdictions to follow suit when unsuccessful in the courts. Counties are required by the EMS Act to create a local EMS system that is timely, safe, and equitable for all residents. To do so, counties honor .201 authorities and contract with both public and private agencies to ensure coverage of underserved areas regardless of the challenges inherent in providing uniform services throughout geographically diverse areas. AB 1168 overturns years of case law and agreements between cities and a county regarding the provision of emergency services, creates major uncertainty for counties who are the responsible local government entity for providing equitable emergency medical services for all of their residents, and could ultimately lead to fragmented and inequitable EMS statewide. Along with UCC and RCRC, CSAC submitted a Request for Veto letter to the Governor on AB 1168.
AB 2496 (Pellerin) Foster family agencies and noncustodial adoption agencies
This bill would give the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) the authority to streamline the process of transferring resource family home approval from a Foster Family Agency (FFA) that closes to the county or another FFA, prohibit the use of certain types of indemnification contracts between counties and FFAs for two years, and establish a process to find a solution to the lack of liability insurance options for FFAs. The author brought forward this measure in response to an announcement made earlier this year by the Nonprofit Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC), which insures about 90 percent of FFAs in the state, that they would no longer renew insurance coverage for FFAs. CSAC opposed a previous version of this bill. However, after good faith negotiations with the author and sponsors of the measure, AB 2496 was amended to include a two-year sunset provision on the indemnification prohibition and add the language to streamline the transfer of resource family home approval. As a result, CSAC joined RCRC and UCC in dropping our opposition to AB 2496 prior to its passage in the Legislature.
SB 37 (Caballero) Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
This bill would, upon appropriation of the Legislature, establish the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program. This pilot program would offer competitive grants in up to five geographic regions or counties to administer housing subsidies for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. SB 37 aligns with CSAC’s AT HOME plan (Accountability, Transparency, Housing, Outreach, Mitigation, & Economic Opportunity) and will provide a critical tool to housing and preventing new entrances into homelessness among California’s aging and dependent adult populations. CSAC submitted a Request for Signature letter to the Governor on SB 37.
SB 1238 (Eggman) Health Facilities
POSITION: No Position
This bill would expand the definition of a “designated facility” or “facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment” for the purposes of an involuntary hold under the Lanterman-Petric-Short (LPS) Act to include additional facilities. This measure has been referred to as a “clean-up” measure to SB 43 (Chapter 637, Statutes of 2023), which expanded the definition of “gravely disabled” to also include a condition in which a person is unable to provide for their personal safety, medical care, and basic needs as a result of a severe substance use disorder (SUD), or a co-occurring Mental Health (MH)/SUD. Although CSAC does not have an official position, counties actively engaged with the Administration and the Legislature on this measure.
SB 1249 (Roth) Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act
This measure would move forward several recommendations of the California Department of Aging (CDA) CA 2030 Steering Committee to create a future-ready aging network in California. Specifically, SB 1249 would establish a CDA-led stakeholder process to identify core programs and services, develop objectives and performance measurements for those core programs and services, develop a consumer engagement plan, and update the intrastate funding formula for area agencies on aging (AAAs). In addition, it would require CDA to work with stakeholders to establish criteria for applying for a AAA designation and removing a AAA designation. Following the rulemaking process for that criteria, a county would be able to submit a letter of intent to be considered for designation.
SB 1400 (Stern) Criminal procedure: competence to stand trial
POSITION: Oppose Unless Amended
This measure would require hearings for misdemeanor incompetent to stand trial (IST) defendants, and amongst other provisions, would make considerable changes to the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act. County concerns to SB 1400 largely relate to the late-breaking and significant changes to the bill without any county engagement on the proposed new data collection and reporting requirements under the CARE Act. The amendments directly impact county behavioral health agencies by requiring that they report specified data elements for both active and former CARE participants, which creates potentially invasive tracking, alongside increased pressure to county administrative functions. Notably, some of the added requirements are not Medi-Cal reimbursable activities and some of the data counties do not have access to. Given that the bill was substantially amended during final week of session, with no notice given or input sought from counties, further amendments were not possible. CSAC was part of a coalition including UCC, RCRC, and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA) in opposition to SB 1400.
Note: This bill summary and outcome can also be found in the AOJ section, as both policy units worked on this measure.
HOUSING LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION
Awaiting Governor’s Action
AB 98 (Carrillo) Planning and zoning: logistics use: truck routes
This bill would limit local governments from approving warehouses on existing or rezoned industrial sites within 900 feet of homes, hospitals, schools and public recreational areas with only a few exemptions. The bill also requires local governments to extensively update the Circulation Element within their General Plan (GP), which requires updates to truck routes, signage, parking and idling. This bill also states that if local governments do not update the GP Circulation Element, the Attorney General can fine the county $50,000 every 6 months.
AB 653 (Reyes) Public housing authorities: reports
This bill would require all public housing authorities to report specified data, including their monthly success rates at the first of each month, to the Department of the Housing and Community Development (HCD) beginning on July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter. Additionally, the bill would require HCD to convene a group of housing authorities to discuss factors that impact success rates and recommendations for state and local intervention and require HCD, in consultation with participants in the Housing Choice Voucher program and other stakeholders to publicly publish a report with recommendations for state and local interventions to improve success rates.
AB 1886 (Alvarez) Housing Element Law: substantial compliance: Housing Accountability Act
This bill would specify that a Housing Element or amendment to a Housing Element is not considered substantially compliant with Housing Element Law until a local agency has adopted a Housing Element that the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has determined is in substantial compliance with Housing Element Law. CSAC opposed the bill along with CalCities and the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) because it essentially turns its back to a fundamental provision of Housing Element Law – that a city and county may disagree with HCD; explain why its Housing Element is in substantial compliance with the law; and then adopt that Housing Element, which is thereafter considered “in substantial compliance with Housing Element Law.”
AB 1893 (Wicks) Housing Accountability Act: housing disapprovals: required local findings
POSITION: Oppose
This bill would specify that a local government may not disapprove a ”Builder’s Remedy project” if the local government’s Housing Element was not in substantial compliance with the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) on the date the Builder’s Remedy project application was deemed complete.
This bill would task the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), in consultation with local governments and other interested parties to conduct a study on how vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is used as a metric for measuring transportation impacts of housing projects pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
SB 937 (Wiener) Development projects: permits: fees and charges
*This bill amends the Mitigation Fee Act
This bill would governor the collection of development related fees that pay for the costs to install infrastructure necessary to build new homes and other developments in livable, equitable, and thriving communities. The bill restricts the timely funding of vital infrastructure and services necessary to build new homes in livable, equitable, and thriving communities. The bill would, among other things, for certain developments, defer development related fees until the certificate of occupancy or its equivalent, while drastically limiting exceptions to this rule.
SB 1395 (Becker) Shelter crisis: Low Barrier Navigation Center: use by right: building standards
This bill would extend the sunset on authorized emergency housing under the Shelter Crisis Act (SCA) to January 1, 2036 and specifically, allows actions related to contracting for services for a homeless shelter under the SCA to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), eliminates the sunset for by-right approval of low barrier navigation centers and exempts from CEQA certain actions by local agencies related to low barrier navigation centers, and clarifies that state programs subject to “Housing First” includes programs that fund emergency shelters and interim housing.
Signed by the Governor
AB 1957 (Wilson) Public contracts: best value construction contracting for counties
This bill will extend best value contracting to allow all counties to attract a more qualified and stronger contractor bidding pool, reduce bad actors during the contractor selection process, and increase the percentage of skilled craftworkers on county construction projects while reducing the otherwise contentious relationships fostered under the traditional low-bid process; this bill gives counties the ability to select the contractor with skill sets directly applicable to the requirements of the project.
This bill will extend the current exemptions from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which already apply to standard Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), to include JADUs. By simplifying the process for constructing JADUs, this bill makes it easier, faster, and more affordable for families to create additional living spaces within their homes.
This bill will exempt actions taken by counties and cities to approve a contract for providing services for people experiencing homelessness from CEQA requirements.
