2026 Legislative Session: Key Developments in Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Policy Area 

Throughout the 2026 Legislative Session, CSAC has kept you informed about key legislative developments. With Governor Newsom’s final actions now complete, CSAC will publish a series of articles highlighting new laws and vetoed bills in each policy area. This week, our focus is on the Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources policy area. 

For additional information, please contact Jordan Wells, Charles Delgado, or Caitlin Loventhal. 

AB 28 (Schiavo) (Chapter 356, Statutes of 2026)
Solid waste landfills: subsurface temperatures. This measure requires landfill owner/operators to notify if a subsurface elevated temperature (SET) event occurs, authorizes CalRecycle to require a corrective action plan, and authorizes the CalEPA Secretary to establish a multiagency coordination group to investigate and provide recommendations for addressing SET events. The law also requires local health departments to initiate community health needs assessments on the effects of a SET event on an affected community and share the findings. AB 28 authorizes CalRecycle to adopt emergency regulations and impose penalties of up to $100,000 per day for specified violations. Read the coalition’s removal of opposition letter here. 

AB 35 (Alvarez) (Chapter 89, Statutes of 2026)
Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: Administrative Procedure Act: exemption: program guidelines and selection criteria. This measure exempts Proposition 4 spending from the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), allowing faster more efficient deployment of funds to community projects. Read the coalition’s request for signature here. 

AB 706 (Aguiar-Curry) (Chapter 869, Statutes of 2026)
Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation (FOREST) and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act. This measure creates a statewide funding framework to maintain and expand biomass power generation, revitalize idle facilities, and support strategically located capacity. Read the coalition’s request for signature here. 

AB 762 (Irwin) (Chapter 717, Statutes of 2026)  
Disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device: prohibition and penalties. 
To help prevent the risk of fires caused by the improper disposal of single-use electronic devices that lack end-of-life management options, this measure prohibits the in-state manufacturing or importing for sale single-use or “disposable” nicotine vaping devices starting January 1, 2027. Retailers will have one calendar year, or until January 1, 2028, to sell their remaining inventory. This measure does not impact the availability of reusable nicotine vaping devices. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 1153 (Bonta) (Chapter 194, Statutes of 2026)
Illegal disposal site abatement. This measure authorizes CalRecycle to fund the disposal of abandoned recreational vehicles and the development of enforcement strategies including local enforcement teams and illegal dumping enforcement officers, upon appropriation from the Legislature. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter.  

AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan) (Chapter 434, Statutes of 2026)
Data centers: reporting. This transparency measure requires data centers to submit expected energy consumption and sound level information to local agencies when requesting authorization to construct or operate a data center and similarly establishes standardized reporting to the California Energy Commission (CEC). The CEC must integrate this data and include an assessment of electrical load trends for data centers in the Integrated Energy Policy Report starting in 2029 and annually publish the data in an anonymized and aggregated format for the public. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 1617 (Alanis) (Chapter 199, Statutes of 2026)
Household hazardous waste: reporting. This measure changes the reporting timeframe for Form 303 Household Hazardous Waste Collection Report from a fiscal year to a calendar year to align with other reporting requirements for household hazardous waste facilities.  Read CSAC’s request for signature letter.  

AB 1699 (Rogers) (Chapter 761, Statutes of 2026)  
Good Fire Act: Prescribed Fire Liability Pilot Program: burn bosses: California Environmental Quality Act.  
This measure establishes the Good Fire Act, largely codifying the Governor’s 2025 executive order to expand the use of tools for safely implementing beneficial fire projects. It also makes the Prescribed Fire Liability Program permanent and extends burn boss certifications from one year to three years, among other provisions. 
Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here.  

AB 1934 (Bennett) (Chapter 763, Statutes of 2026) 
State Fire Marshal: home hardening certification program implementation plan. 
This measure requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal’s (OSFM) Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee to develop an implementation plan for a home hardening certification program by January 1, 2029. 
Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 1954 (Ward) (Chapter 476, Statutes of 2026) 
Municipal golf courses: reservations.
This measure prohibits unauthorized operators of a third-party golf reservation service platform from listing, selling, or reselling reservations for a publicly owned golf course without a written agreement. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 1964 (Bennett) (Chapter 765, Statutes of 2026)
State Fire Marshall: home hardening. This bill directs the OSFM to develop home hardening standards by January 1, 2028, and compile a report by January 1, 2030 that estimates the number of homes in specified fire hazard severity zones that meet these standards or require additional home hardening. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 2051 (Wicks) (Chapter 575, Statutes of 2026)  
Public resources: coastal resources: Coastal Resilience Permitting Working Group.   
This measure directs the California Natural Resources Agency to convene an interagency Coastal Resilience Permitting Working Group to identify administrative improvements and develop a clear roadmap for streamlining permitting for coastal resilience projects. This measure will help accelerate critical climate adaptation projects while upholding California’s environmental protections, protecting coastal communities and ecosystems. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 2180 (Ward) (Chapter 587, Statutes of 2026)
Local government: Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: proportional cost of service. This measure clarifies how local governments can set water and sewer rates under Proposition 218, allowing cost allocations based on historical and projected data while requiring rates to remain proportional to the cost of service. Read the coalition’s request for signature here. 

AB 2469 (Papan) (Chapter 436, Statutes of 2026)
Data centers: water use disclosure. This measure creates new requirements for data center projects to submit water scarcity and water supply information to cities and counties permitting these projects. Read the coalition’s request for veto here. 

AB 2513 (Petrie-Norris) (Chapter 768, Statutes of 2026)
Wildfire: Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program: local assistance grant program: regional landscape grants.
This measure amends three existing grant programs to authorize regional landscape grants and requires the Department of Conservation to support implementation by coordinating with and providing technical assistance to regional entities. The law also indefinitely extends CAL FIRE’s authorization to award advance payments through the local assistance grant program.  Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 2724 (Bauer-Kahan) (Chapter 9961, Statutes of 2026)
Insurance: distressed areas. This measure requires the Department of Insurance (CDI) to annually review and update the distressed areas as defined under the Catastrophe Modeling Regulations, which could allow more jurisdictions to have access to insurance coverage under these regulations. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

AB 2728 (Soria) (Chapter 963, Statutes of 2026)
Groundwater: de minimis extractors: fees: exemption. This measure authorizes a local government, including, but not limited to, a groundwater sustainability agency, that imposes a fee, levy, charge, or exaction for groundwater monitoring or management, upon making specified findings, to exempt de minimis extractors, including the above-described regulated users, from the payment of the fee, levy, charge, or exaction. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 501 (Allen)(Chapter 414, Statutes of 2026)
Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022: covered batteries. This measure expands California’s existing Responsible Battery Recycling Act by adding medium-format batteries, thereby requiring the producers of these batteries to fund their collection and proper end-of-life management. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 894 (Allen) (Chapter 770, Statutes of 2026) 
Wildfire resiliency: financial assistance. This measure establishes the California Wildfire Resilience Loan Program and requires the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to administer a low-interest loan program to reduce upfront costs and incentivize home hardening and defensible space activities. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 955 (Blakespear) (Chapter 319, Statutes of 2026)
Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines.
This measure amends the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, redefining supermarkets to ensure high-volume beverage retailers are participating in the program. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 973 (Becker) (Chapter 772, Statutes of 2026)
Wildfire County Coordinator Program. This bill establishes the California Wildfire Preparedness Program and requires CAL FIRE to enter into an agreement with the California Fire Safe Council to administer and deliver the Wildfire County Coordinator Program. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 997 (Caballero) (Chapter 86, Statutes of 2026)
North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency: lien authority. This measure authorizes North Fork Kings GSA to impose civil penalties and liens. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 1085 (Durazo) (Chapter 1004, Statutes of 2026)
Water supply planning: housing developments. Recent legislation eliminated CEQA analysis requirements for certain projects, which inadvertently meant that water sustainability assessments (WSAs) were no longer triggered in certain circumstances, even when required under state law. This measure explicitly requires the submission of WSAs for certain housing developments projects, ensuring new large developments have a long-term water supply. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 1135 (Blakespear) (Chapter 820, Statutes of 2026)
California Wildlife Coexistence Act. This measure establishes a statewide program through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to track and address human-wildlife conflicts, promote nonlethal solutions, and provide technical assistance to communities. It also supports wolf-livestock coexistence through nonlethal deterrence and compensation for verified livestock losses. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

SB 1370 (Stern) (Chapter 777, Statutes of 2026)  
Covered wildfire mitigation projects: consolidated and expedited review. 
This measure builds on the success of the Governor’s 2025 executive order and establishes a consolidated and expediated review process for certain covered wildfire mitigation projects. The measure also requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to adopt regulations to develop a Certified Regulatory Program for nontimber vegetation management. 
Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here. 

Bills vetoed by the governor include but are not limited to the following: 

AB 1761 (Rogers) Electricity: calculation methodology: nonbypassable charges: data disclosure. – VETOED
This bill would have improved the transparency for how any nonbypassable charge is calculated and imposed on energy bills. Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here and the Governor’s veto message here. 

AB 1881 (Ramos) California Indian Freedom Act of 2026. – VETOED 
This bill would have established a private right of action, allowing tribes and individual tribal members to challenge state decisions involving state lands and waterways, thereby increasing potential litigation risk. The measure would have further prioritizes tribal governmental interests through a strict scrutiny standard and overlaps with, or conflicts with, existing state and federal frameworks that already govern tribal consultation and protections. 
Read the coalition’s request for veto letter here and the Governor’s veto message here. 

AB 2218 (Kalra) Water policy: California Native American tribes. – VETOED 
This bill sought to address longstanding inequities faced by California Native American Tribes due to the loss of access to and control over water resources. However, the bill’s policy statement and directive introduced substantial uncertainty into existing water management processes by establishing a broad policy framework without providing clear direction, safeguards, or limitations to ensure the continued reliability of water supplies. This measure would have also had unclear, but potentially far-reaching impacts on surface water rights.  
Read the coalition’s request for veto letter here and the Governor’s veto message here. 

AB 2739 (Soria) Water: affordability and system stabilization. – VETOED 
This bill would have established the Water Affordability and System Stabilization Fund and the Community Water Affordability Program, which would have helped ensure that local jurisdictions have the necessary resources to ensure access to clean, affordable drinking water for all residents. 
Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here and the Governor’s veto message here. 

SB 872 (McNerney) Delta Levees and Canal Subsidence Fund. – VETOED 
This bill sought to protect the millions of water users in the state, communities reliant on safe, clean drinking water, and the environment by making long overdue investments in the State Water Project and the network of levees protecting the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.   
Read CSAC’s request for signature letter here and the Governor’s veto message here. 

SB 1125 (Menjivar) Water Rate Assistance Program. – VETOED 
This bill would have established a water rate assistance program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide rate assistance to low-income residents. 
Read the coalition’s request for signature letter here and the Governor’s veto message here.