Bill Talk: The ones to act on in appropriations
A weekly update from Cal Cities, sorting through the state bill buzz
By Cal Cities Staff
For the next two weeks, we’re focusing on the biggest bills likely headed to the state’s fiscal chopping block, the suspense file. This week, we’re highlighting six bills sponsored by Cal Cities, which cover state homelessness funding, fire hazard maps, and more, along with a few other top Cal Cities priorities.
Assembly Appropriations met on May 6; Senate Appropriations met on May 4 and will meet again May 11. Any measures with an estimated cost of at least $50,000 will go on the committees’ suspense files for further (lightning fast) consideration. Those bills must pass off suspense by May 15 to advance.
Cities should call Assembly Appropriations and Senate Appropriations and urge them to support or oppose the measures below. Lawmakers generally approve bills that advance to the floor for a vote. City support will be critical to getting these measures to the next house.
Speaking of money: The High-Speed Rail Authority will likely shift its state-run Tax Increment Financing district gambit into the budget process. As detailed below, this should raise alarm bells for all cities due to the precedent it would create.
One small housekeeping note: The Monday version of next week’s Bill Talk will go out later than usual. We’ll also run a special edition of Bill Talk on Monday, recapping all the winners and losers of the year’s first suspense file.
-Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor
Assembly Appropriations Committee
Revived housing element and bond bills up for consideration
Two familiar housing bills are up in Assembly Appropriations. Sponsored by Cal Cities, AB 2296 (Papan) would give cities an extra six months to begin the housing element review process and provide greater certainty and reduce ambiguity in the housing element review process. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar measure last year — also by Asm. Diane Papan — that passed through the Legislature with zero no votes.
AB 736 (Wicks) would place a $10 billion housing bond on the June primary election ballot that would fund various affordable housing programs. There is an identical companion bill, SB 417 (Cabaldon), in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Previous attempts to pass the bond have failed. Cal Cities supports both AB 736 and SB 417.
- Brady Guertin, legislative advocate
Sponsored HHAP bill increases access for smaller cities
AB 1708 (Solache) would increase access to Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) funding for cities with populations under 300,000. A new survey from Cal Cities found that eight in 10 cities have not received money from the program, the largest source of state homelessness funding for local governments. The bill passed out of its last committee hearing with unanimous support.
- Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate
Bill imposes unworkable translation requirements for land use projects
AB 2170 (Boerner) would require local agencies to translate notices for CEQA projects into any language spoken by 5% or more of the population and require public CEQA hearings to include oral translations for any language, among other requirements. Under the bill, a misinterpretation by the public would invalidate a public agency’s decision.
Cal Cities opposes the measure. Unfortunately, CEQA is often used for non-environmental purposes to extract concessions from project applicants or to stop a project altogether. The bill would likely increase CEQA costs, complexity, and litigation risks, thus making it easier to challenge and undermine projects.
- Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate
Sponsored disaster bills in appropriations
Assembly Appropriations will hear two environmental bills sponsored by Cal Cities. AB 1866 (Rogers) would ensure that the state considers local agencies that do not qualify for federal disaster aid when allocating disaster assistance after a state-declared emergency. AB 2517 (Calderon) would improve the state’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation process so that local agencies receive consistent and timely updates to their fire hazard maps and can plan for wildfires accordingly.
- Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate
Co-sponsored bill cracks down on metal theft
Cities around the state have experienced organized metal theft targeting streetlights, potholes, and broadband. Thieves often target these public assets due to the high value of precious metals, leaving behind significant damage that endangers public safety and imposes burdensome repair costs. AB 1941 (Gonzalez, M) would increase the penalty for organized metal theft to either a misdemeanor or a felony.
- Serena Scott, legislative affairs analyst
E-bike registration bill is promising but needs changes
Dangerous e-bike behavior has become a top priority for lawmakers this year. Several of those measures are in appropriations, including AB 1942 (Bauer-Kahan). The bill would require owners to register Class 2 and 3 e-bikes with the Department of Motor Vehicles and affix a license plate to the rear of those bicycles. Cal Cities supports the measure if amended: Cal Cities is urging lawmakers to apply the rules to all three classes of e-bikes, establish a cap on registration fees, and add visual markers for each e-bike class to license plates.
- Damon Conklin, legislative advocate
Reimbursement bill provides sensible fiscal relief and flexibility
Cities are no doubt familiar with “reimbursable state mandates” — state initiatives that local governments are forced to carry without an appropriation from the state. AB 2640 (Hadwick) would authorize the state controller to allow a city to offset any reduced reimbursement from other unpaid reimbursement claims, preventing the state from clawing back funds while still owing debts to that same city. Cal Cities supports the measure.
- Ben Triffo, legislative advocate
Bill would cap EV charging station permit fees
AB 1820 (Schiavo) would cap what a city may recover in costs when permitting residential and commercial electric vehicle charging station projects. Cal Cities opposes the measure, arguing that there is no evidence that local permitting fees are a primary barrier to new charging stations. Rather, the real bottlenecks are private investments, grid capacity, and infrastructure readiness.
- Damon Conklin, legislative advocate
Priority workplace policy bills
Two notable workplace policy bills are up for consideration. AB 1564 (Ahrens) would restrict an employer’s ability to conduct internal investigations to the detriment of employees’ and the public’s safety and well-being, adding new costs and liability for public employers. Cal Cities opposes the measure. Lawmakers have tried six times to pass a similar measure, one of which then-Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed.
AB 1961 (Ahrens) would give employers new tools to address threats of workplace violence through existing mechanisms and by closing a gap in current law. The measure does not require public agencies to implement a new program or higher level of service. Cal Cities supports the measure, in part because local agencies have seen a rise in hostility and threats from the public in recent years.
- Johnnie Piña, legislative advocate
Senate Appropriations Committee
Problematic homelessness bill advances
A bill that specifically targets cities without direct access to state homelessness funding advanced to appropriations with near-unanimous approval. SB 866 (Blakespear) would require all but 14 cities in the state to add extensive and burdensome homelessness reporting requirements to their housing elements. Cal Cities opposes the measure.
- Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate
License plate bill would snarl criminal investigations
SB 1013 (Cervantes) would prohibit local agencies from sharing information obtained through automatic license plate readers with any federal law enforcement agency under certain conditions. Public agencies could only keep data for 30 days if the infraction is not on a HOT list, a list of major incidents like AMBER alerts and kidnappings.
These rigid requirements could result in permanent loss of vital information before an investigation even begins. Cal Cities is opposed to the measure unless it’s amended to address this issue.
- Jolena Voorhis, legislative advocate
Bill would create new requirements for e-bike sales
Lawmakers in the Senate will hear SB 1167 (Blakespear), a bill that would reclassify higher speed e-bikes as mopeds and impose retail and manufacturing requirements when advertising e-bikes. Cal Cities supports the measure: Devices that exceed statutory e-bike definitions are often marketed and used as e-bikes, creating confusion for consumers, complicating enforcement, and introducing safety risks for cyclists and pedestrians.
- Damon Conklin, legislative advocate
Disclosure bill would raise pension costs
Cal Cities and a coalition of local government groups are opposing SB 1319 (Durazo). The bill would significantly expand the information subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act related to public pension funds’ investments in alternative investment vehicles, such as private equity. This would substantially limit investment options for some retirement systems and raise the annual contribution costs for all public agencies and their employees.
- Johnnie Piña, legislative advocate
Whippet bill builds on local models
Legislators are considering a bill based on ordinances adopted by over 20 California cities that prevent smoke shops from selling nitrous oxide, which has become a popular party drug. SB 936 (Blakespear) would prohibit the sale and distribution of a nitrous oxide container that can hold more than 8 grams of nitrous oxide and any device that allows nitrous oxide to be inhaled for recreational purposes. The bill would also prohibit the sale of food flavored and scented nitrous oxide. Cal Cities supports the measure.
- Serena Scott, legislative affairs analyst
High-speed rail tax proposal likely to shift to budget process
At a recent Senate Transportation hearing, the High-Speed Rail Authority signaled it is advancing authorization to create state-controlled Tax Increment Financing districts. Shortly after, the authority announced its plans to align a proposed business plan with the state budget. Together, these actions indicate the agency is likely avoiding a transparent policy committee hearing for a more discrete budget process.
As detailed in a coalition letter, the proposal raises significant concerns for all cities. It would allow a state entity with no constitutional taxing authority to capture local property and potentially sales tax growth. This would undermine voter-approved protections, expose cities to legal risk, and divert local revenues away from essential services while further encroaching on local land use authority.
Cal Cities will continue to monitor and respond. Keep watching for ways cities can engage and make their voices heard.
- Damon Conklin, legislative advocate
A quick reminder
Bill Talk is a weekly breakdown of the biggest bills, policy committee hearings, and legislative deadlines that city leaders need to know about. To get this list on Monday morning, contact your regional public affairs manager. To access old Bill Talks, visit the archive page. To see all tracked bills by issue area or priority, visit the Bill Search page.