Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Legislative Update

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By
Catherine Freeman, Jordan Wells
Date Published
June 5, 2025

The latest updates on AENR bills as the Legislature wraps up House of Origin.

AB 1 (Connolly) Residential property insurance: wildfire risk.
CSAC Position: SUPPORT
Status: Passed to the Senate.

This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, to consider whether or not to update its regulations to include additional building hardening measures for property-level mitigation efforts and communitywide wildfire mitigation programs. As part of this consideration, the bill would require the Department of Insurance to consult with specified agencies to identify additional building hardening measures to consider, as well as to develop and implement a public participation process during the evaluation. AB 1 will be heard next in the Senate.

AB 8 (Aguiar-Curry) Cannabis: cannabinoids: industrial hemp.
CSAC Position: SUPPORT
Status: Passed to the Senate.

This bill would require products containing concentrated cannabinoids other than CBD isolate that are derived from industrial hemp to comply with provisions of the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) beginning January 1, 2028. The bill also reverts the cannabis excise tax rate to 15 percent effective January 1, 2028, and expands the authority for state and local enforcement agencies to inspect, seize, and destroy unlawful cannabis products. AB 8 will be heard next in the Senate.

AB 258 (Connolly) Fairs: allocation of revenues: gross receipts for sales and use tax.
CSAC Position: SUPPORT
Status: Passed to the Senate.

This bill would increase the amount of the total gross receipts required to be included in the next annual Governor’s Budget for use by the Department of Food and Agriculture and transferred to the Fair and Exposition Fund, as specified, from 3/4 of 1% to 2%. AB 258 will be heard next in the Senate.

AB 706 (Aguiar-Curry) Forest Organic Residue, Energy, and Safety Transformation and Wildfire Prevention Fund Act.
CSAC Position: SUPPORT
Status: Passed to the Senate.

This bill would establish the fire fuel reduction program to support sufficient procurement, transport, and beneficial use of forest biomass waste to reduce fuel for wildfires by up to 15,000,000 bone-dry tons of forest biomass waste per year. The bill would establish the Forest and Wildfire Prevention Fund in the State Treasury, and would continuously appropriate the fund to the Natural Resources Agency for this program. AB 706 will be heard next in the Senate.

AB 998 (Hadwick) Household hazardous waste: vape pens.
CSAC Position: SUPPORT
Status: Passed to the Senate.

Under this bill, a vape pen confiscated by a school as contraband is presumed to have been generated by a household and does not lose its status as household hazardous waste (HHW) when properly managed and disposed of at a HHW collection facility or through a HHW collection program. The bill would authorize a HHW collection facility to disassemble HHW, including separating batteries, valves, and electronic components. The overall goal of the bill is to help schools safely and conveniently dispose of vape pens confiscated at their school. AB 998 will be heard next in the Senate.

AB 1313 (Papan) Water quality: permits.
CSAC Position: OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED
Status: Inactive.

The bill would require the state board, after making the necessary residual designation authority findings, to establish a statewide commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) order for properties with 5 acres or more of impervious surface. However, AB 1313 lacks clear legal authority and creates regulatory uncertainty as the impacted facilities are currently excluded from regulation under the federal Clean Water Act. Unless and until the U.S. EPA exercises its Residual Designation Authority for the State of California, the State Water Board does not have the legal authority to issue the proposed CII permit. Further, the bill creates significant administrative and legal burdens for municipalities without state funding for implementation. Ordered to inactive file at the request of the author.

SB 72 (Caballero) The California Water Plan: long-term supply targets.
CSAC Position: CO-SPONSOR & SUPPORT
Status: Passed to the Assembly.

Co-sponsored by CSAC, this bill would revise the contents of the California Water Plan, which is updated every five years by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), and requires DWR to coordinate with other local, state, and federal entities, and the stakeholder advisory committee to develop the Water Plan. The bill would require DWR to develop a long-term water supply planning target for 2050 and establishes an interim target to develop an additional 9 million acre-feet (AF) of water, water conservation, or water storage capacity by 2040. The bill would require the target to consider the identified and future water needs for all beneficial uses, including, but not limited to, urban uses, agricultural uses, tribal uses, and the environment, and ensure safe drinking water for all Californians. The bill would require the Water Plan to include a discussion of the estimated costs, benefits, and impacts of any project type or action that is recommended by DWR within the plan. SB 72 will be heard next in the Assembly.

SB 254 (Becker) Policy-Oriented and Wildfire Electric Reimbursement (POWER) Program
CSAC Position: OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED
Status: Passed to the Assembly.

This bill includes several provisions to address energy affordability and permitting challenges. However, it also extends the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) AB 205 opt-in permitting program sunset from 2029 to 2034, continuing the usurpation of local permitting authority. The bill also creates a rebuttable presumption that construction or operation of a facility will have an overall net positive economic benefit to the host local government if the project is located adjacent to a utility substation or natural gas powerplant. SB 254 will be heard next in the Assembly.

SB 283 (Laird) Energy storage systems
CSAC Position: SUPPORT
Status: Passed to the Assembly.

This bill would require the California Fire Marshal to review and consider incorporating into the next update of the California Building Standards Code the most recently published edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 855 standards for the installation of energy storage systems. The bill would also require a developer to certify that the system was designed in accordance with the most recently published edition of NFPA 855 or the California Building Standards Code and requires the developer to meet and confer with the local fire department responsible for fire suppression before applying for that project. SB 283 will be heard next in the Assembly.