Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2512-5784CITY OF PALO ALTO Policy & Services Committee Special Meeting Tuesday, April 14, 2026 6:00 PM     Agenda Item     1.Update, Discussion, and Potential Feedback on Bill Positions Regarding State and Federal Legislation, Executive Orders and Other Regulatory and Funding Activity. CEQA Status: Not a Project. Staff Presentation Policy & Services Committee Staff Report From: City Manager Report Type: ACTION ITEMS Lead Department: City Manager Meeting Date: April 14, 2026 Report #:2512-5784 TITLE Update, Discussion, and Potential Feedback on Bill Positions Regarding State and Federal Legislation, Executive Orders and Other Regulatory and Funding Activity. CEQA Status: Not a Project. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee receive an update on the City’s advocacy efforts, provide feedback on pending state and federal legislation, specifically AB 1821, SB 1159, AB 1557, AB 2346, AB 2517, SB 1167, and SB 922. BACKGROUND As part of the City’s Federal and State legislative advocacy program, staff and Townsend Public Affairs (TPA), the City’s legislative advocates, work to identify and analyze potentially impactful legislation and communicate the City’s interests to legislators. The Policy and Services Committee receives regular updates from Townsend Public Affairs (TPA), the City’s legislative advocates. This item is an opportunity for the Committee to learn about prominent topics and proposed legislation and provide feedback on legislative actions. The City’s advocacy program is guided by the Advocacy Process Manual1 and a set of City Council- approved Legislative Guidelines2. The guidelines provide direction to staff and Townsend Public Affairs on issues important to the City Council and other emerging legislative issues. In consultation with the Mayor and the Policy and Services Committee Chair, staff use the guidelines to respond to legislative affairs throughout the year. The guidelines allow for flexible and prompt responses to emerging issues in the fast-paced legislative environment without returning to the 1 Advocacy Process Manual: https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/2/intergovernmental- affairs/advocacy-process-manual-2025.pdf 2 2026 Federal and State Legislative Guidelines: https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/2/city- manager/legislation/2026-legislative-guidelines.pdf City Council each time an issue arises. Legislative items with formal City action are posted on the Intergovernmental Affairs5 page. ANALYSIS Federal Items Issue Summary City Position Status 5 Intergovernmental Affairs: https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/City-Policy- Initiatives/Intergovernmental-Affairs Grass Athletic Field Pilot Program ($2.2M), Cubberley Community Center Acquisition ($2M) appropriations process progresses. State Items The table below shows bills that the City has taken a position on and bills on which staff is requesting Committee feedback. Upon receiving Committee input, staff will coordinate with relevant City departments and Townsend on position letters. Attachment B includes all bills that the City is monitoring through TPA. Issue Summary City Position Status AB 1708: Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention program AB 1708 creates a new opportunity for all cities to access the state’s flagship homelessness grant program, the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Grant program. Support In committee: hearing postponed by committee SB 762: Transactions and Use Tax SB 762 would authorize Palo Alto, among other jurisdictions, to exceed the statewide sales and use tax rate cap subject to voter approval. If approved by voters, the tax would help fund land purchase and renovations at Cubberley Community Center and general government operations. Support Passed Senate Committees and ordered to the Assembly. AB 2576: Transit-oriented development AB 2567 would delay implementation of all SB 79 operative dates by one year. One piece of particular interest is modifications for historic exemptions. This bill would define “historic resource” to mean a historic resource listed on a local, state, or national historic register, and would remove the limitation on the exclusion of sites with a historic resource to 10% of the eligible area of a transit- oriented development zone. Support letter in progress le Re-referred to Committee on Housing and Community Development AB 1821: California Public Records Act: fees and agency response time AB 1821 would require requesters (except journalists and education or noncommercial scientific institutions) submitting a Public Records Act request exceeding 2 hours of search time or multiple requests totaling of 10 hours of Pending Committee and staff feedback. Recommend support. Re-referred to Committee on Judiciary. search time per month to pay reasonable fees to compensate for the administrative time. It also changes the required response time from 10 calendar days to 10 business days. SB 1159: Artificial Intelligence: transparency and governance This bill excludes artificial intelligence systems, autonomous agents, and bots from the definition of those who may engage with government agencies under acts like the Brown Act, Political Reform Act, and Public Records Act. Pending Committee and staff feedback. Recommend support. Set for hearing on April 6. AB 1557: Vehicles: electric bicycles This bill redefines the classification of electric bicycles and prohibits manufacturers and retailers from labeling products that don’t meet the new classifications as electric bikes and imposes fines for violators. Pending Committee and staff feedback. Recommend support Re-referred to Committee on Transportation. AB 2346: Vehicles: electric bicycles and speed limits This bill requires electric bikes be manufactured and sold with a speedometer and lights, requires retailers to provide disclosures at the point of sale, and imposes fines for violators. Pending Committee and staff feedback. Recommend support. Re-referred to Committee on Transportation, read second time and amended. SB 1167: Vehicles: electric bicycles This bill prohibits certain types of vehicles, like motor-driven cycles and mopeds, from being advertised and sold as electric bikes It makes violation of this provision a misleading a crime and would impose a state-mandated local program. Pending Committee and staff feedback. Recommend support. Re-referred to Committee on Transportation. AB 2517: Fire Safety: fire hazard severity zones This bill would require the State Fire Marshall to release preliminary maps of fire hazard severity zones and provide a public comment period and regional public workshops. Pending Committee and staff feedback. Recommend support. Referred to Committees on Natural Resources and Emergency Management Sb 922: Vehicles: local agency charges: use of streets or highways This bill allows local agencies to recover the cost of street maintenance and repair associated with providing public services. Pending Committee and staff feedback. Ordered to third reading. Regional Items Issue Summary City Position Status Connect Bay Area Transit Initiative This citizens’ initiative proposed for the November 3, 2026 ballot would, if approved by the voters, enact a regional sales tax to fund public transit. Support Organizers are gathering the required signatures to qualify for the ballot before the June 6, 2026 deadline. FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. The City Council budgets annually for the legislative advocacy services and these efforts are led by staff in the City Clerk’s Office in close collaboration with the City Manager’s Office with stakeholder support across other City departments on key issues. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Staff from multiple departments are involved in the legislative process by helping to review the impacts of bills and discussing grant opportunities linked to state and federal programs. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The City’s legislative advocacy activities are not a project under section 15378(b)(5) of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (administrative activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment). ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: TPA State and Federal Updates Memo Attachment B: Palo Alto Priority Bill Matrix APPROVED BY: Ed Shikada, City Manager Mahealani Ah Yun, City Clerk CALIFORNIA ADVOCACY • FEDERAL ADVOCACY • GRANT WRITING Sacramento • Washington, D.C. Northern California • Central California • Southern California MEMORANDUM To: Palo Alto Policy and Services Committee CC: Ed Shikada, City Manager Chantal Cotton Gaines, Deputy City Manager Christine Prior, Assistant City Clerk From: Townsend Public Affairs Niccolo De Luca, Vice President Carlin Shelby, Deputy Director Joseph Melo, Federal Advocacy Manager Date: March 30, 2026 Subject: State and Federal Legislative Updates Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (TPA) has prepared this report for the City of Palo Alto to provide a summary of State, Federal, and funding efforts and highlight the current status of the legislative process. STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATES State Updates The Legislature has entered a critical early phase of the 2026 legislative session, with policy committees hearing a high volume of bills for the first time and beginning to shape which proposals will advance. This stage is particularly important, as bills must successfully move through their respective policy committees to remain viable. Measures with fiscal implications are required to pass policy committees and advance to fiscal committees by April 24, while non-fiscal bills must clear policy committees by May 1 to proceed to their respective house floors. Across these hearings, several key policy themes are emerging that are likely to define the direction of the session. These include efforts to strengthen e-bike safety through updated definitions, equipment standards, and youth safety requirements; proposals addressing the role of artificial intelligence in public meetings, including questions around what constitutes a “person” for purposes of participation and compliance with open meeting laws; and legislation aimed at addressing increasingly burdensome Public Records Act requests, particularly those that strain local government resources. In addition, the Legislature continues to prioritize housing market reforms focused on streamlining development, clarifying state housing law, and expanding housing production in targeted areas. Wildfire preparedness and prevention also remain a central focus, with proposals addressing mitigation, resilience, and emergency response. Energy policy discussions are expanding to include diversification of the State’s energy portfolio, including renewed consideration of nuclear energy alongside other clean energy sources. Page 2 A detailed summary of active legislation and recommended City positions across these issue areas is provided in the attached bill matrix. In parallel with policy committee activity, budget subcommittees in both houses continued reviewing departmental proposals tied to the Governor’s budget and the Legislature’s priorities, with discussions focused on program funding levels, effectiveness, and implementation strategies. Informational and oversight hearings have also remained part of the broader legislative workload, providing additional context on priority policy areas and emerging issues. As of March 30, the Legislature has adjourned for its spring recess, temporarily pausing committee and floor activity. Lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene on April 6, at which point legislative activity is expected to accelerate quickly as key policy and fiscal deadlines approach. State Budget Update The California Department of Finance March 2026 Finance Bulletin reflects a modest but meaningful improvement in the State’s fiscal outlook. Year-to-date General Fund revenues are tracking approximately $7 billion (5.1%) above projections, with February receipts also exceeding expectations. These gains are primarily driven by stronger-than-anticipated personal income and corporate tax revenues, signaling continued resilience in California’s core revenue streams despite broader economic moderation. At the same time, underlying economic indicators present a mixed but stable picture. Growth is slowing but remains positive, inflation continues to ease, and the labor market is showing slight softening. Housing activity remains uneven across regions, reflecting ongoing affordability challenges and higher interest rates. Collectively, these conditions suggest the State is navigating a transition from a more volatile post-pandemic revenue environment toward a steadier, though still uncertain, fiscal footing. Looking ahead, the next key milestone in the budget process is the Governor’s May Revision, which will incorporate updated revenue data and revised expenditure assumptions. This will set the framework for final negotiations leading to the constitutionally required June budget adoption deadline. Following adoption, the State will continue to refine policy and funding allocations through budget trailer bills, which are expected to move throughout the summer months and into August. Importantly, this phase of the budget process often presents strategic opportunities for local governments. As the Administration and Legislature reconcile priorities and allocate available resources, there is typically an increased emphasis on identifying projects that can be deployed quickly and deliver measurable outcomes. As such, jurisdictions should be prepared to advance well-defined, implementation-ready proposals, as earmark-style funding opportunities and targeted augmentations are most likely to emerge during the May Revision and subsequent trailer bill negotiations. SB 79 (Wiener, Statutes of 2025) Implementation and Cleanup Update Senate Bill 79 (2025) represents one of the most significant recent changes to California housing and land use law, establishing a statewide framework to promote transit-oriented housing development. The law requires that qualifying housing projects located within proximity to major transit stops be treated as an allowed use and establishes minimum standards for residential density, building height, and floor area ratio. In effect, SB 79 preempts certain locally adopted Page 3 zoning standards in transit-rich areas and creates state-defined development baselines intended to increase housing production in transit-accessible, high-resource communities. In Palo Alto, SB 79 applies to areas within approximately one-half mile of the University Avenue, California Avenue, and San Antonio Caltrain stations, encompassing a substantial portion of the City and extending well beyond the boundaries of existing planning efforts such as the Downtown Housing Plan. The law introduces a new set of development standards that must be evaluated in the context of existing land use patterns, parcel configurations, infrastructure capacity, and historic resources. Since the enactment of SB 79, the State has begun to address implementation questions through a combination of targeted legislation and administrative guidance. The primary legislative vehicle is AB 2576 (Harabedian), which proposes a series of technical refinements to the SB 79 framework. The bill would delay key implementation timelines by one year, providing jurisdictions with additional time to complete required analysis, adopt local ordinances, or prepare alternative plans. It also clarifies the treatment of historic resources by expanding definitions and removing constraints that currently limit the extent to which historic sites may be excluded from development capacity calculations, and adjusts applicability thresholds to better align with jurisdictional scale. In parallel, SB 1361 (Durazo) introduces a narrower policy adjustment by creating an exemption pathway for jurisdictions or agencies that have adopted policies to deliver at least 10,000 housing units, with at least half designated as income-restricted, by 2032. While this provision is unlikely to directly apply to Palo Alto, it reflects a broader legislative intent to introduce flexibility within the SB 79 framework for jurisdictions advancing large-scale housing production. Separately, the California Department of Housing and Community Development has now released initial implementation guidance in the form of a March 20, 2026 advisory to Metropolitan Planning Organizations. This guidance focuses on clarifying key statutory definitions that are central to SB 79 implementation, including what constitutes a transit-oriented development stop, how distances are measured from “pedestrian access points,” and how transit service classifications such as “high-frequency commuter rail” and qualifying bus service should be interpreted. The guidance is intended to support consistent statewide mapping of transit-oriented development zones, which will ultimately determine where SB 79 development standards apply. While this advisory does not resolve all implementation questions, it represents an important first step in providing technical clarity needed for local and regional implementation. Earlier in the legislative session, there was an expectation that broader cleanup legislation would be advanced through Senator Wiener’s SB 908 and SB 677, including provisions to clarify statutory ambiguities and address implementation timelines. Those vehicles are no longer moving forward as comprehensive fixes. Instead, the State appears to be narrowing its approach to a smaller set of targeted legislative changes, supplemented by HCD-issued guidance to address interpretive issues. Taken together, this reflects a shift in strategy from more expansive statutory changes to a combination of limited legislative refinements and administrative clarification. As of March 30, 2026, AB 2576 represents the primary legislative vehicle addressing SB 79 implementation, supplemented by SB 1361 and the recently released HCD guidance. However, given the evolving nature of the legislative process, additional changes or new proposals may still emerge as the session progresses. Page 4 For the City of Palo Alto, near-term implementation will be shaped by both the outcome of pending legislation and ongoing state guidance, particularly as MPO-led mapping efforts advance. FEDERAL UPDATES Congressionally Directed Spending Submittals Townsend Public Affairs worked closely with City of Palo Alto staff to develop and submit three Community Project Funding (CPF) requests to Representative Sam Liccardo’s office as part of the Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations process. The Congressman’s team is currently reviewing submitted projects and is expected to begin identifying priority requests in the near term. This marks the first step in the CPF process, after which selected projects will be advanced by the Member to the relevant House Appropriations subcommittees for further consideration. The City’s FY 2027 CPF requests include: • The Track Watch Rail Safety Program, requesting $2,000,000, would fund a one-year safety initiative placing trained monitors at Caltrain grade crossings throughout Palo Alto. The program is designed to provide a visible presence, identify potential risks, and coordinate with emergency responders, with the goal of reducing rail-related fatalities and improving safety for residents, students, and commuters along the rail corridor. • The Natural Grass Athletic Field Pilot Program, requesting $2,200,000, would support the construction of a high-performance, sand-based natural grass athletic field. The project is intended to improve durability, drainage, and playability under intensive use while allowing the City to evaluate natural turf as a potentially more sustainable alternative to synthetic fields. • The Cubberley Community Center Acquisition project, requesting $2,000,000, would support the acquisition of an additional seven acres at the Cubberley Community Center campus. This effort would consolidate public ownership of the site and enable long-term redevelopment, modernization of aging facilities, and expansion of arts, recreation, education, and community programming at a major civic and cultural hub. Townsend Public Affairs will continue to monitor developments, engage with Representative Liccardo’s office, and provide updates as project prioritization decisions are made and submissions advance to the committee stage. Federal Policy Update – FCC Wireless Siting Rulemaking and Related Legislation The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently advancing a rulemaking titled “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireless Deployments” (WT Docket No. 25-276), which is intended to evaluate and potentially revise federal standards governing wireless infrastructure siting and deployment. The proceeding has generated significant national engagement, with more than 3,000 public comments submitted during the formal comment period, which closed in mid-January 2026. A substantial number of these filings were submitted by cities, counties, and local government organizations, many of which raised concerns regarding potential federal preemption of local zoning and land use authority. Key issues identified in these comments include proposed changes Page 5 to shot clock timelines, expansion of “deemed granted” provisions, and limitations on local fees and permitting conditions, all of which could affect how local governments review and approve wireless infrastructure projects. At the same time, industry stakeholders and wireless deployment advocates have expressed support for the FCC’s effort, emphasizing the need for more consistent national standards to facilitate network expansion, improve connectivity, and support economic competitiveness. The FCC is currently reviewing comments, and additional clarity on the scope and timeline of potential rule changes is expected in the coming months. In parallel, there has been increased attention to federal legislation related to wireless and broadband deployment, including H.R. 2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025. The bill was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in December 2025 and would establish a comprehensive federal framework governing broadband and wireless permitting across federal, state, and local levels. As currently drafted, H.R. 2289 would make several structural changes to the permitting process for telecommunications infrastructure. These include establishing federal timelines (“shot clocks”) for application review, allowing certain projects to be deemed approved if jurisdictions do not act within prescribed timeframes, and limiting the scope of environmental and historic preservation review for certain wireless facility modifications. The bill also addresses local fee structures and permitting requirements, with the stated objective of accelerating broadband deployment and reducing regulatory barriers. The legislation is part of a broader federal effort to streamline infrastructure deployment and is aligned with ongoing FCC proceedings examining similar issues related to local permitting processes and federal preemption. At this time, however, H.R. 2289 is not actively advancing toward floor consideration, and no immediate action is expected. Earlier communications circulating among local governments appear to have conflated the FCC rulemaking with this legislation, contributing to some confusion regarding the status and potential impacts of each. At present, the FCC proceeding represents the primary federal action underway, while H.R. 2289 remains a separate legislative proposal that has not progressed further in Congress. Townsend Public Affairs has submitted comments into the FCC proceeding reflecting local government perspectives and will continue to monitor both regulatory and legislative developments, providing updates as additional information becomes available. Federal Update – Department of Homeland Security Funding Status Negotiations to resolve the partial funding lapse affecting agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remain ongoing, with limited progress following a period of heightened legislative activity. The current funding lapse began on February 14, 2026, following a breakdown in bipartisan negotiations over immigration enforcement policy, particularly related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Since that time, DHS has been partially unfunded, while most other federal agencies remain funded through the fiscal year. Page 6 In recent days, the Senate advanced an amended version of H.R. 7147 that would provide full- year funding through September 30, 2026, for non-immigration enforcement components of DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and certain Coast Guard civilian personnel. The proposal excluded ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Border Patrol, which previously received supplemental funding and have continued operations during the lapse. Senate Republicans indicated a willingness to support this approach, with the expectation that immigration enforcement funding would be addressed separately through a future reconciliation package. However, the Senate-passed framework has not advanced in the House. On March 27, House leadership declined to take up the Senate proposal and instead moved forward with a short-term continuing resolution that would fund all DHS components, including immigration enforcement. This divergence between the House and Senate has reinforced the central issue driving the impasse. Congressional negotiations remain focused on whether DHS funding should proceed as a unified package that includes immigration enforcement activities, or as a partial measure that excludes those components pending further policy agreement. The two chambers remain far apart on this question, and recent discussions have not resulted in a compromise framework. As of March 30, negotiations are effectively at a standstill. While there was notable legislative activity last week, no agreement has been reached, and both chambers are now in recess. Lawmakers are not expected to reconvene until mid-April, delaying further consideration of a funding resolution. Operational impacts continue across affected DHS agencies. The partial shutdown has resulted in unpaid federal workers, including TSA personnel, and has contributed to service disruptions, particularly at airports due to staffing shortages. In response, the Administration has taken interim actions, including issuing an order directing continued pay for TSA officers, though broader funding gaps remain in place for other DHS functions. Recent reporting also indicates that negotiations between congressional leaders and the Administration have occurred intermittently, but without a clear path forward. Discussions have included both legislative and administrative approaches to maintaining operations while broader policy disagreements persist. The situation remains fluid, and additional developments are expected once Congress returns from recess and negotiations resume. MATRIX To: Palo Alto Policy and Services Committee From: Townsend Public Affairs Date: March 30, 2026 Subject: City of Palo Alto Priority Bill Matrix Energy, Utilities, and Communications AB 2619 (Papan, D) Water resources: data centers. Status: 03/09/2026 - Referred to Coms. on W., P., & W. and L. GOV. Summary: Existing law authorizes the legislative body of an incorporated city and the county board of supervisors to license businesses carried on within their respective jurisdictions and to set license fees, as specified. This bill would require a person who owns or operates a data center, prior to applying to a city or a county for an initial business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, to provide its water supplier, under penalty of perjury, an estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. When applying to a city or county for an initial business license, the bill would require a person who owns or operates a data center to report, under penalty of perjury, on the application, an estimate of the expected water use, the anticipated source of water, and the data center’s projected water use volume for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. When applying to a city or county for a renewal of a business license, equivalent instrument, or permit, the bill would require a person who owns or operates a data center to report, under penalty of perjury, on the application, the data center’s annual water use for the preceding calendar year, including total water use, direct water use, and indirect water use, as prescribed. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would define terms for purposes of these provisions. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/20/2026 text) AB 2647 (Calderon, D) Energy: nuclear facilities: advanced nuclear reactors. Status: 03/16/2026 - Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and U. & E. Summary: Existing law prohibits the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) from certifying a nuclear fission thermal powerplant, except for specified powerplants, and provides that a nuclear fission thermal powerplant, except those specified powerplants, is not a permitted land use in California unless certain conditions are met regarding the existence of technology for the construction and operation of nuclear fuel rod processing plants and of demonstrated technology or means for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste, as specified. This bill would exempt advanced nuclear reactors, as defined, from that prohibition. (Based on 02/20/2026 text) SB 222 (Wiener, D) Residential heat pump systems: water heaters and HVAC: installations. Status: 01/26/2026 - Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 29. Noes 8.) Ordered to the Assembly. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. Summary: Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and prescribes the authorities, duties, and responsibilities of the commission pertaining to energy matters. Existing law requires the commission, on or before January 1, 2019, in consultation with the Contractors State License Board, local building officials, and other stakeholders, to approve a plan that promotes compliance with specified regulations relating to building energy efficiency standards in the installation of central air-conditioning and heat pumps, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to adopt regulations to increase compliance with permitting and inspection requirements for central air-conditioning and heat pumps, and associated sales and installations, consistent with the above-described plan. The bill would require a city, county, or city and county, beginning July 1, 2027, to adopt and offer asynchronous inspections for installations of residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC systems, as defined, that do not require a licensed contractor and building inspector to be simultaneously present during the inspection. The bill would authorize a building inspector to contact the licensed contractor who performed the installation by telephone call or real-time video conferencing during their inspection, and, if the building inspector determines during an asynchronous inspection that there is an issue with an installation of the heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system and that the licensed contractor who performed the installation must be present to perform tests or cure the installation, to require the licensed contractor who performed the installation to schedule an additional inspection in which the building inspector and the licensed contractor who performed the installation are required to be simultaneously present during the additional inspection. The bill would specify that these provisions do not require a local entity described above to discontinue offering inspections for the installation of a residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system where in a building inspector and licensed contractor who performed the installation are simultaneously present. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 01/15/2026 text) SB 1168 (McNerney, D) Data centers: natural gas and electricity: surcharges. Status: 02/26/2026 - Referred to Coms. on E., U & C. and REV. & TAX. Summary: Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations and electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law establishes a surcharge on all natural gas consumed in the state to fund certain low-income assistance programs, cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities, and public interest research and development. Under existing law, the surcharge is in addition to any other charges for natural gas sold or transported for consumption, as defined, in this state. Existing law exempts from the surcharge gas customers within the service territories of municipalities, districts, or public agencies that offer specified services or programs, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act, or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC, is a crime. The Energy Resources Surcharge Law imposes a surcharge on consumers for the consumption of electricity purchased from an electric utility, which includes an electrical corporation and local publicly owned electric utility, at a rate annually fixed by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), not to exceed a surcharge rate cap of $0.0003 per kilowatthour. Existing law requires electric utilities to collect the surcharge from consumers, and requires electric utilities, and any consumers who have not had the surcharge collected by an electric utility, to file a return with specified information. Under existing law, a violation of the Energy Resources Surcharge Law is a crime. This bill would impose surcharges, on and after January 1, 2027, on natural gas consumed by a data center, as defined, or a person that consumes natural gas to produce electricity primarily for a data center, at an unspecified rate, and on electricity consumed by a data center that is purchased from an electric utility, which includes an electrical corporation and local publicly owned electric utility, at an unspecified rate. The bill would specify that the above-described surcharges apply to persons that meet specified criteria, including, among other things, that during any single month beginning January 1, 2027, the person purchased natural gas from a gas corporation, or electricity from an electric utility, that was wholly or partially consumed by a data center. The bill would require a gas corporation and electric utility to collect the applicable surcharge from each data center, except as provided. The bill would authorize a person to apply to a gas corporation or electric utility, as applicable, for an exemption from a surcharge, as specified. (Based on 02/18/2026 text) SB 1313 (McNerney, D) Public water systems: grants and loans: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Status: 03/16/2026 - Set for hearing April 22. Summary: The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various duties and responsibilities for the regulation and control of drinking water in the state. This bill would authorize the state board to fund projects, upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature, through grants or loans to public water systems to address perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water or source water. The bill would prescribe sources from which those funds may originate and permissible activities for those projects. The bill would authorize the state board to implement the bill through a policy handbook or workplan exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill contains other existing laws. (Based on 02/20/2026 text) Governance and Transparency AB 1821 (Pacheco, D) California Public Records Act: fees and agency response time. Status: 03/17/2026 - Re-referred to Com. on JUD. Summary: Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires each state or local agency, upon a request for a copy of records that reasonably describes an identifiable record or records, to make the records promptly available to any person upon payment of fees covering direct costs of duplication, or a statutory fee if applicable, except with respect to public records exempt from disclosure by express provisions of law. This bill would require, if a single request exceeds 2 hours of search time, or if the total requests by a requestor exceed 10 hours of search time in one month, the requestor to also submit to the agency a payment of fees in an amount determined by the agency as reasonable to compensate the agency for the administrative time of completing the requests. The bill would exempt from that requirement a journalist, a newspaper, and an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, as specified. The bill would define “search” for purposes of that requirement to mean to review, either manually or by automated means, agency records for the purpose of locating those records that are responsive to a request. (Based on 03/16/2026 text) Position: Recommend Support AB 2134 (Addis, D) City council members: absences without permission. Status: 03/17/2026 - Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. Summary: Existing law provides that if a city council member is absent without permission from all regular city council meetings for a specified number of days from the last regular meeting they attended, their office becomes vacant and shall be filled as any other vacancy. This bill would prohibit a city from refusing permission for a council member to take absences for parental leave and would exclude parental leave from counting toward the number of allowed absences allotted to each council member. The bill would prohibit a city from requiring a council member to request approval for their parental leave at a public hearing. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 03/16/2026 text) SB 1159 (Cabaldon, D) Artificial intelligence: transparency and governance. Status: 03/27/2026 - Set for hearing April 6. Summary: The California Constitution provides that people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business. Various provisions of existing law, including the California Public Records Act, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, and the Ralph M. Brown Act, provide, with some exceptions, for public access to government records and meetings of government bodies. Among those acts, the California Public Records Act defines “person” to include any natural person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, or association. Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, imposes various requirements and limitations with respect to the conduct of public officials, campaign expenditures and disclosures, political advertisements, lobbying, the ballot pamphlet, and other aspects of political reform. The act defines “person” to mean an individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, company, corporation, limited liability company, association, committee, and any other organization or group of persons acting in concert. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs, among other things, the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. This bill would specify that, for purposes of the California Public Records Act, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Political Reform Act of 1974, the Administrative Procedure Act, and CEQA, “person,” “interested person,” “participant,” “member of the public,” as applicable, and any other similar terms under each act referring to those who may engage with governmental agencies, do not include artificial intelligence, as defined, systems, autonomous agents, robots, or other nonhuman entities, whether physical or digital. The bill would make findings and declarations related to these provisions. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 03/25/2026 text) Position: Recommend Support Homelessness AB 1708 (Solache, D) Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program: round 7. Status: 03/16/2026 - In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. Summary: Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, counties, and tribes in 6 rounds, with rounds 1 to 5, inclusive, administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness and round 6 administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, as provided. Existing law establishes round 7 of the program and states the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that specifies the parameters, as specified. Existing law, effective July 1, 2026, appropriates $500,000,000, as specified, provided that these funds be disbursed in accordance with specified requirements, including that funds from this appropriation be disbursed to a city, county, tribe, or continuum of care for round 7 of the program after a declaration by the director of the department, in consultation with the Director of Finance, that the department has substantially completed its initial disbursement of round 6 funds to the city, county, tribe, or continuum of care and that the city, county, tribe, or continuum of care has obligated at least 50% of its total round 6 award. Existing law requires the department, during the 2025–26 fiscal year, to prepare to administer round 7 of the program with the goal that initial round 7 disbursements will be available to grantees meeting the statutory provisions for disbursement beginning September 1, 2026, as specified. This bill would require a continuum of care receiving funding pursuant to round 7, as described above, to allocate funds to a smaller jurisdiction, defined as a city with a population under 300,000. The bill would require a smaller jurisdiction, in order to be eligible for funding, to, among other things, adopt a resolution, as specified, have a compliant housing element, and have adopted a local encampment policy, as described. The bill would require a continuum of care to accept applications for funding in accordance with specified procedures. (Based on 02/04/2026 text) Position: Support Housing and Land Use AB 1738 (Carrillo, D) State Housing Law: remote inspections. Status: 03/26/2026 - Read second time and amended. Summary: Existing law, the State Housing Law, establishes statewide construction and occupancy standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law requires the building department of every city or county to enforce the provisions of the State Housing Law, the State Building Standards Code, and other specified rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the State Housing Law pertaining to standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law authorizes an officer, employee, or agent of an enforcement agency to enter and inspect any building or premises whenever necessary to secure compliance with, or prevent a violation of, any provision of the State Housing Law, the building standards published in the State Building Standards Code, and other rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of the State Housing Law. Existing law provides certain immunities to a public entity or employee immunity relative to an inspection or license, as provided. This bill would require a city, including a charter city, county, or city and county to offer a homeowner or contractor the option of requesting remote inspections for all or a subset of an inspection required by a building permit for specified works in one- or 2-family dwelling units, by July 1, 2027, as provided. The bill would apply the above-described immunities to remote inspections. The bill would authorize these local agencies, at their discretion, to set up a process to perform onsite audits to confirm that a homeowner or contractor accurately represented the work subject to the remote inspection and to temporarily ban the homeowner or contractor from using the remote inspection if the homeowner is found to have willfully misrepresented the work, as provided. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 03/26/2026 text) AB 1751 (Quirk-Silva, D) Missing Middle Townhome Ownership Act. Status: 02/23/2026 - Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and L. GOV. Summary: Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, contains various provisions requiring a local government that receives an application for certain types of qualified housing developments to review the application under a streamlined, ministerial approval process depending on the type of housing development, as specified. Existing law, the Subdivision Map Act, vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency and sets forth procedures governing the local agency’s processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act generally requires a subdivider to file a tentative map or vesting tentative map with the local agency, as specified, and the local agency, in turn, to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the map within a specified time period. Existing law, known as the Starter Home Revitalization Act of 2021, among other things, requires a local agency to ministerially consider, without discretionary review or a hearing, a parcel map or a tentative and final map for a housing development project that meets certain requirements, including that the housing development project on the lot proposed to be subdivided will contain 10 or fewer residential units, except as provided. This bill, the Missing Middle Townhome Ownership Act, would authorize a development proponent to submit an application for a townhome housing development project that is subject to a prescribed ministerial approval process if the development complies with certain procedural requirements and satisfies specified objective planning standards. The bill would also require a local agency to ministerially consider, without discretionary review or a hearing, a parcel map or a tentative and final map for a townhome development project that meets all of specified requirements, including that the proposed subdivision will result in parcels and residential units that will meet prescribed densities and that the newly created parcels are no smaller than 600 square feet. The act would define “townhome” for these purposes to mean a single-family dwelling unit that is less than or equal to 3 stories of occupiable square footage and shares a common wall, as specified, or is separated from one or more neighboring units by an air gap, and would define “townhome development project” to mean a housing development project consisting entirely of residential dwelling units that satisfy this definition of townhome. The bill would authorize a local agency to disapprove a townhome housing development project, or deny the issuance of a parcel map, a tentative map, or a final map for a townhome development project, allowed under the bill’s provisions if it makes written findings based upon a preponderance of the evidence that the proposed townhome housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact, as provided in specified law, upon public health and safety and for which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. The bill would authorize a local agency to adopt an ordinance to implement its provisions and would provide that the adoption of such an ordinance is not a project under CEQA. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/09/2026 text) AB 1997 (Lee, D) Land use: housing development approvals: timelines and processes. Status: 03/09/2026 - Referred to Coms. on L. GOV. and H. & C.D. Summary: Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law, the Housing Accountability Act (act), among other things, when a housing development project, as defined, that complies with applicable, objective general plan, zoning, and subdivision standards and criteria in effect at the time that the application was deemed complete, requires a local agency that proposes to disapprove that development, or to impose a condition that the project be developed at a lower density, to base its decision on written findings supported by a preponderance of the evidence that specified conditions exist. That act, however, sets forth certain limitations with respect to its requirements, including providing that the act does not prohibit a local agency from requiring the housing development project to comply with objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies appropriate to, and consistent with, meeting the jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing need. The act provides for enforcement of its provisions by an enforcement action brought by the applicant, a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the housing development, or a housing organization, as provided. This bill would, under the act, prohibit a plan, entitlement, or permit that has been approved by a previous local utility or agency from being overturned or revised by a subsequent utility or agency, unless the development proponent makes a material change to the project, as described. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/17/2026 text) AB 2139 (Garcia, D) Surplus lands: economic opportunities. Status: 03/09/2026 - Referred to Com. on L. GOV. Summary: Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency, including sending a written notice of the availability of the property before disposal of that property or participating in negotiations to dispose of that property with a prospective transferee, as specified. Existing law specifies that certain disposals of land are not subject to these provisions, including, disposal of land by a city with a population exceeding 2,500,000 for certain purposes, as specified. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county, with the approval of its legislative body by resolution after a public hearing, to acquire, sell, or lease property in furtherance of the creation of an economic opportunity, as defined. This bill would exempt from the requirements for the disposal of surplus property the disposal of real property acquired by a local agency on or after, January 1, 2029, for the purpose of creating an economic opportunity, when the local agency adopts a specified resolution that includes plans for anticipated improvement and future use of the property and disposes of the property to a public or private entity consistent with the planned used identified in the resolution. (Based on 02/18/2026 text) AB 2576 (Harabedian, D) Transit-oriented development. Status: 03/23/2026 - Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D. Summary: Existing law provides that a housing development project shall be an allowed use as a transit- oriented housing development if specified conditions and requirements are met, including certain requirements pertaining to cities with a population of at least 35,000. Existing law defines various terms for these purposes. Existing law provides that these provisions do not apply to a local agency until January 1, 2026, unless the local agency adopts an ordinance or local transit-oriented development alternative plan, as defined, deemed compliant by the Department of Housing and Community Development before July 1, 2027. Existing law specifies that, beginning on January 1, 2027, a local government that denies a housing development project meeting the requirements referenced above that is located in a high-resource area is presumed to be in violation of specified law and immediately liable for specified penalties. This bill would delay each of those dates, and certain related dates, by one year. The bill would also increase the population threshold for certain requirements to apply to cities, as described above, from 35,000 to 40,000. (Based on 03/19/2026 text) Position: Support SB 417 (Cabaldon, D) The Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026. Status: 01/27/2026 - Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 30. Noes 9.) Ordered to the Assembly. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. Summary: Under existing law, there are programs providing assistance for, among other things, emergency housing, multifamily housing, farmworker housing, home ownership for very low and low- income households, and downpayment assistance for first-time home buyers. Existing law also authorizes the issuance of bonds in specified amounts pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law and requires that proceeds from the sale of these bonds be used to finance various existing housing programs, capital outlay related to infill development, brownfield cleanup that promotes infill development, and housing-related parks. This bill would enact the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026, which, if adopted, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law. Proceeds from the sale of these bonds would be used to finance programs to fund affordable rental housing and home ownership programs, including, among others, the Multifamily Housing Program, the CalHome Program, and the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. This bill would provide for submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election, in accordance with specified law. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. (Based on 01/22/2026 text) Position: Support if Amended Labor Relations AB 1383 (McKinnor, D) Public employees’ retirement benefits: safety members. Status: 01/29/2026 - Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 70. Noes 2.) In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. Summary: The Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL) establishes the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) to provide a defined benefit to members of the system based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. Existing law creates the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund, which is continuously appropriated for purposes of PERS, including depositing employer and employee contributions. Under the California Constitution, assets of a public pension or retirement system are trust funds. The California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) establishes a variety of requirements and restrictions on public employers offering defined benefit pension plans. In this regard, PEPRA restricts the amount of compensation that may be applied for purposes of calculating a defined pension benefit for a new member, as defined, by restricting it to specified percentages of the contribution and benefit base under a specified federal law with respect to old age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits. Existing law, the Teachers’ Retirement Law, establishes the State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers’ Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, creditable service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. This bill, on and after January 1, 2027, would require a retirement system subject to PEPRA to adjust pensionable compensation limits to be consistent with specified percentages of the contribution and benefit base under the specified federal law with respect to old age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits. The bill would require a new member of STRS to be subject to specified limits of the Teachers’ Retirement Law. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 01/22/2026 text) Public Safety AB 1557 (Papan, D) Vehicles: electric bicycles. Status: 03/17/2026 - Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. Summary: Existing law defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power. Existing law classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different restrictions. Existing law defines a “class 1 electric bicycle” as a bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, that is not capable of exclusively propelling the bicycle, and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. Existing defines a “class 2 electric bicycle” as a bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. Existing law defines a “class 3 electric bicycle” as a bicycle equipped with a speedometer and a motor that, in pertinent part, provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 28 miles per hour. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. This bill would instead define a class 1 electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, that is not capable of exclusively propelling the bicycle, and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 16 miles per hour. The bill would define a class 2 electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle, and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 16 miles per hour. The bill would provide that, notwithstanding these definitions, an electric bicycle manufactured prior to January 1, 2027, that was equipped with a motor that is not capable of exceeding 750 watts of peak power and otherwise met the legal requirements for the relevant class at the time of manufacture shall retain its classification. The bill would prohibit a manufacturer from equipping, and a retailer from offering for sale or advertising, any device labeled as an electric bicycle with a motor that is capable of exceeding 750 watts of peak power. The bill would also prohibit a manufacturer from equipping, and a retailer from offering for sale or advertising, any device labeled as a class 1 or class 2 electric bicycle with a motor that is capable of exceeding 250 watts of continuous power or that is capable of providing assistance to reach speeds greater than 16 miles per hour. The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $15,000 for a first violation and not to exceed $50,000 for each subsequent violation, upon an action brought by the Attorney General, a city attorney, a county counsel, or a district attorney. The bill would specify that a violation of this provision is not a criminal offense. (Based on 03/16/2026 text) Position: Recommend Support AB 1614 (Dixon, R) Vehicles: bicycles. Status: 02/02/2026 - Referred to Com. on TRANS. Summary: Existing law, the California Bicycle Transportation Act, establishes 4 classifications of facilities, referred to as bikeways, that provide primarily for, and promote, bicycle travel. Existing law requires a person operating a bicycle, which includes an electric bicycle, upon a highway to ride the bicycle upon or astride a permanent and regular seat unless the bicycle was designed by the manufacturer to be ridden without a seat. Existing law requires a person riding as a passenger on a bicycle upon a highway to be upon or astride a seat attached to the bicycle, as specified. A violation of these provisions in punishable as an infraction. This bill would make those provisions applicable to the operation of a bicycle upon a Class I bikeway. By expanding an existing infraction, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 01/21/2026 text) AB 2284 (Dixon, R) Vehicles: electric bicycles. Status: 03/17/2026 - Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. Summary: Under existing law, the Department of the California Highway Patrol is responsible for enforcement of all laws regulating the operation of vehicles and use of the highways, as specified. Existing law requires the department to develop, on or before September 1, 2023, statewide safety and training programs based on evidence-based practices for users of electric bicycles, as defined, including, but not limited to, general electric bicycle riding safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the road, and laws pertaining to electric bicycles. This bill would require, on or before June 1, 2027, the department, in partnership with biking nonprofit groups, to compile a list of electric two-wheeled devices that do not comply with the definition of any single class of electric bicycles and that are labeled, advertised, or commonly perceived by riders or peace officers as electric bicycles or electric bicycle products. The bill would require the department to make the list available on its internet website and to update the list and internet website, when necessary. (Based on 03/16/2026 text) AB 2346 (Wilson, D) Vehicles: electric bicycles and speed limits. Status: 03/26/2026 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended. Summary: Existing law defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts, and classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different restrictions for various purposes. This bill would require all class 1 and class 2 electric bicycles manufactured, sold, or offered for sale on or after January 1, 2029, to be equipped with a speedometer. The bill would also require all electric bicycles manufactured, sold, or offered for sale on or after January 1, 2029, to be equipped with an integrated front lamp and a rear lamp, as specified. The bill would also require manufacturers and distributors of electric bicycles to include a written description of California’s electric bicycle laws with the bicycle’s packaging to be provided to the consumer. The bill would also require sellers and distributors of electric bicycles to provide specified disclosures at or before the point of sale. The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $15,000 for a first violation and not to exceed $50,000 for each subsequent violation, upon an action brought by the Attorney General, a city attorney, a county counsel, or a district attorney. The bill would specify that a violation of these provisions is not a criminal offense. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 03/26/2026 text) Position: Recommend Support AB 2517 (Calderon, D) Fire safety: fire hazard severity zones. Status: 03/09/2026 - Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and E.M. Summary: Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state that are not state responsibility areas, commonly known as local responsibility areas, as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review and make recommendations relative to very high fire hazard severity zones within local responsibility areas. Under existing law, this review is required to coincide with review of state responsibility area lands every 5 years and, when possible, fall within the timeframes for each county’s general plan update. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving the recommendations from the State Fire Marshal. Existing law authorizes a local agency to, at its discretion, include areas within its jurisdiction not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as very high fire hazard severity zones and areas not identified as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones. Under existing law, a local agency is required to transmit a copy of an adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. Existing law provides that changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the State Fire Marshal are final. This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, no fewer than 180 days before finalizing the designation of local responsibility areas as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, post specified information on its public internet website, conduct regional public workshops to receive oral public comments and consider those comments, host a 30-day public comment period to receive written comments from interested stakeholders and respond to all written comments by local agencies within 30 days of the end of the public comment period, and coordinate with other state agencies to help educate the public during the public workshops, as specified. The bill would also require, on or before January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, the State Fire Marshal to review the local responsibility area lands designated as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones and to recommend changes. The bill would no longer require this review to, when possible, fall within the timeframes for each county’s general plan update. (Based on 02/20/2026 text) Position: Recommend Support SB 1167 (Blakespear, D) Vehicles: electric bicycles. Status: 03/26/2026 - From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re- referred to Com. on TRANS. Summary: Existing law defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power. Existing law classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different restrictions for various purposes, and requires, among other things, a class 3 electric bicycle to be equipped with a speedometer. Existing law prohibits certain vehicles that do not meet the definition of an electric bicycle from being advertised, sold, offered for sale, or labeled as an electric bicycle, as specified. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. This bill would amend the type of vehicles that are prohibited from being advertised, sold, offered for sale, or labeled as electric bicycles, including, among others, motor-driven cycles and mopeds. The bill would additionally make a violation of this provision a misleading statement for purposes of unfair competition and false advertising provisions of the Business and Professions Code. By creating new crimes related to the advertisement, sale, offer, and labeling of electric bicycles, and by expanding the application of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 03/26/2026 text) Position: Recommend Support SB 1218 (Arreguín, D) Refusal of registration: illegal dumping violation penalties. Status: 03/26/2026 - Set for hearing April 14. Summary: Existing law requires, except as specified, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to refuse to renew the registration of a vehicle upon various grounds, including if the registered owner or lessee has been mailed a notice of a delinquent parking violation relating to standing or parking, the processing agency has filed or electronically transmitted to the department an itemization of unpaid parking penalties, and the owner or lessee has not paid the parking penalties. Existing law makes it unlawful and punishable as an infraction for a person to dump or caused to be dumped waste matter upon a public or private highway or road, upon private property without the consent of the owner, or in or upon a public park or other public property, as specified. Existing law also makes it unlawful and punishable as a misdemeanor for a person to place, deposit, or dump, or cause to be placed, deposited, or dumped, waste matter in commercial quantities, as specified. This bill would similarly require the DMV to refuse to renew the registration of a vehicle if the registered owner or lessee has been mailed a notice of delinquent illegal dumping violation. (Based on 02/19/2026 text) SB 1292 (Richardson, D) Enhanced curb management system. Status: 03/26/2026 - Set for hearing April 14. Summary: Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2030, a local agency, as defined, to install automated forward facing parking control devices on city-owned or district-owned parking enforcement vehicles for the purpose of taking photographs of parking violations occurring in bicycle lanes. Existing law requires a designated employee of a city, county, city and county, or a contracted law enforcement agency for a special transit district, who is qualified by the city and county or the district to issue parking citations, to review photographs for the purpose of determining whether a parking violation occurred in a bicycle lane and to issue a notice of violation to the registered owner of a vehicle within 15 calendar days, as specified. Existing law requires these photographic records to be confidential and makes these records available only to public agencies to enforce parking violations. Existing law requires any local agency that implements this pilot program to report to specified committees of the Legislature on the system’s effectiveness and impact on traffic outcomes, among other things, by December 31, 2028. This bill would authorize a local agency, as defined, to establish an enhanced curb management system (system) that records images of vehicles for the purpose of enforcing parking violations or automating parking payments if certain requirements are met. The bill would require the governing body of the local agency to adopt a public ordinance or resolution that would authorize the use of a system in specified locations, including, among others, passenger loading zones and commercial loading zones. The bill would require a local agency that automates parking payments by charging vehicles a fee for access to outline the fee, and any adjusted rates, in an ordinance or resolution. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/20/2026 text) SB 1314 (Menjivar, D) Smoke shops: locations, hours of operation, and sale of nitrous oxide. Status: 03/25/2026 - Set for hearing April 8. Summary: The Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act requires the State Department of Public Health to establish and develop a program to reduce the availability of tobacco products to persons under 21 years of age through specified enforcement activities. In addition to the primary enforcement responsibility assumed by the department, existing law authorizes other state and local governmental agencies to conduct inspections and assess penalties for violations of the act, as specified, and encourages state and local enforcement agencies to share the results of inspections and coordinate with the department when enforcing the act. In this regard, existing law authorizes an enforcing agency to assess specified civil penalties against any person, firm, or corporation that sells, gives, or in any way furnishes to another person who is under 21 years of age any tobacco, cigarettes, or cigarette papers. Existing law, upon the assessment of a civil penalty for the 3rd, 4th, or 5th violation, requires the department to notify the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and requires the CDTFA to assess civil penalties and suspend or revoke a license issued under the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003. This bill, effective January 1, 2028, would prohibit the retail location for a smoke shop, as defined, from being located within a 600-foot radius of a school or a day care center in existence at the time the retail license is issued, unless the local jurisdiction specifies a different radius. The bill would prohibit a smoke shop from engaging in the retail sale of tobacco products directly to the public between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health or the CDTFA to establish regulations relating to the operation of smoke shops, including the creation of a separate license category with administrative processes and separate fee rates. The bill would also prohibit a smoke shop from possessing, storing, owning, or selling nitrous oxide or paraphernalia relating to the consumption of nitrous oxide. The bill would authorize an enforcement agency to assess civil penalties for a violation of those provisions. The bill would authorize the CDTFA to then assess a civil penalty and suspend or revoke a license for a violation of those provisions. The bill would define various terms relating to the bill’s provisions. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/20/2026 text) Revenue and Taxation AB 2180 (Ward, D) Local government: Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: proportional cost of service. Status: 03/26/2026 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading. Summary: The California Constitution specifies various requirements with respect to the levying of assessments and property-related fees and charges by a local agency. As part of those requirements, the California Constitution mandates that such fees or charges that are extended, imposed, or increased satisfy certain requirements, including, but not limited to, that the amount of the fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. Existing law, known as the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act (act), prescribes specific procedures and parameters for local jurisdictions to comply with these requirements and, among other things, authorizes an agency providing water, wastewater, sewer, or refuse collection services to adopt a schedule of fees or charges authorizing automatic adjustments that pass through increases in wholesale charges for water, sewage treatment, or wastewater treatment or adjustments for inflation under certain circumstances. This bill would authorize a local government to demonstrate the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel by any method that reasonably allocates the ascertainable cost of providing service to all parcels, if substantiated as provided. The bill would, however, provide that for water or sewer service fee or charge impositions, a local government is not required to provide an exact measure of the cost of the service at each parcel and may instead impose uniform or tiered rates to parcel or customer classes that are defined based on common characteristics indicative of likely water or sewer use. The bill would provide that the proportional cost of service within each tier of water service may be substantiated by using any reasonable basis for allocating costs attributed to the tier, as described, and would provide a local government discretion to determine the costs allocated to each tier as long as the rate for each tier does not exceed the proportional cost of service reasonably allocated to parcels subject to (Based on 03/11/2026 text) SB 762 (Arreguín, D) Transactions and use tax: City of Hercules. Status: 01/27/2026 - Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 29. Noes 10.) Ordered to the Assembly. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. Summary: Existing law authorizes cities and counties, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in the jurisdiction not exceed 2%. This bill would authorize the City of Hercules to impose a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes, at a rate of no more than 1%, that, in combination with other transactions and use taxes, would exceed the above-described combined rate limit of 2%, if certain requirements are met. The bill would provide that a transactions and use tax rate imposed pursuant to the bill will not be considered for purposes of the combined rate limit described above. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Hercules. (Based on 01/05/2026 text) Position: Pending Support for City’s inclusion SB 922 (Laird, D) Vehicles: local agency charges: use of streets or highways. Status: 03/19/2026 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading. Summary: Existing law prohibits a local agency from imposing a tax, permit fee, or other charge for the privilege of using its streets or highways, other than a permit fee for an extralegal load unless the local agency had imposed the fee prior to June 1, 1989. This bill would expressly limit this prohibition to charges based on weight. The bill would also explicitly state that a fee, charge, or surcharge imposed by or for a local agency to recover the cost of street maintenance and repair and other costs associated with the use of its streets, roads, or highways to provide public services or public works is not a tax, permit fee, or other charge that is prohibited by the provision above. The bill would provide that nothing in the Vehicle Code prohibits a local agency from imposing or collecting this fee, charge, or surcharge. The bill would delete obsolete references and make other technical changes. (Based on 03/11/2026 text) Position: Recommend Support April 14, 2026 Legislative Guidelines & Advocacy Updates PaloAlto.gov Carly Shelby, Deputy Director, Townsend Public Affairs Chantal Cotton Gaines, Deputy City Manager Christine Prior, Assistant City Clerk 2 •Receive an update on state and federal advocacy •Provide feedback on advocacy efforts and pending state and federal legislation, specifically: Recommendation Bill Number and Title City Postion Packet Pg AB 1821:California Public Records Act: fees and agency response time Pending Committee and staff Feedback. Recommend support. 7 SB 1159:Artificial Intelligence: Transparency and governance Pending Committee and staff Feedback. Recommend support. 8 AB 1557:Vehicles: electric bicycles Pending Committee and staff Feedback. Recommend support. 8 AB 2346:Vehicles: electric bicycles and speed limits Pending Committee and staff Feedback. Recommend support. 8 AB 2517:Fire Safety: fire hazard severity zones Pending Committee and staff Feedback. Recommend support. 8 SB 1167:Vehicles: electric bicycles Pending Committee and staff Feedback. Recommend support. 8 SB 922:Vehicles: local agency charges: use of streets or highways Pending Committee and staff Feedback. Recommend support. 8 3 •Legislative advocacy program is guided by Council-approved Legislative Guidelines and Advocacy Process Manual •Staff and Townsend, in consultation with the Mayor and P&S Chair, use the guidelines as a framework to respond to legislative issues •Approach allows for flexible and quick response to emerging issues and evolving landscape •City strategically weighs in on legislative issues. This strategy prioritizes bills that directly impact Palo Alto where the City’s voice makes a difference Background Legislative and Funding Updates Policy and Services Committee April 14, 2026 PRESENTATION OVERVIEW Slide 5 Federal Updates Areas of Engagement State Budget Update AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT Slide 6 E-bike Safety Reforms Affordable Housing Delivery Voter-Approved Revenue Capacity Measure SB 79 (Wiener, 2025) Clean Up The Role of AI in Public Meetings Local Revenue Protection Autonomous Vehicle Regulation AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT: LEGISLATION Slide 7 E-Bike Safety AB 2346 (Wilson) Updates e-bike requirements, requires retailer disclosures, and authorizes local control over speed limits Autonomous Vehicle Regulation SB 1246 (Cortese) Establishes stricter safety, staffing, emergency response, and oversight requirements for autonomous vehicle operators in California, including mandates for trained in-state personnel, rapid incident response, and improved coordination with first responders. AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT: LEGISLATION Slide 8 Affordable Housing Delivery Housing Bond Proposals – SB 417 (Cabaldon) & AB 736 (Wicks) Authorizes the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026 to place a $10 billion housing bond on the November ballot to fund production of affordable housing and supportive housing. Advocacy efforts underway to position the City’s Local Housing Trust to be eligible for funds AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT: LEGISLATION Slide 9 SB 79 (Wiener, Statutes of 2025), clean up thought to transpire through policy vehicle during 2026 Session HCD Implementation Guidance released earlier than anticipated, causing author’s office to pull back on efforts New clean up vehicles emerging, including AB 2576 (Harabedian), which delays implementation of SB 79 by one year, raises the population threshold for applicability, and expands local flexibility by broadening historic resource exemptions and related provisions. Dynamics evolving AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT: LEGISLATION Slide 10 The Role of AI In Public Meetings AB 1159 (Cabaldon) Clarifies that only human individuals—not AI systems or bots—are considered “members of the public” or participants under California transparency, public comment, and open meeting laws. AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT: LEGISLATION Slide 11 Local Revenue Protection SB 922 (Laird) Allows local governments to charge fees or taxes (not based on vehicle weight) to recover costs for street maintenance and public services tied to road use. STATE BUDGET UPDATE Slide 12 Governor’s Budget Expects $2.9B Deficit (Smaller than $18B Projected by Legislative Analyst's Office New estimates show we are $7 billion ABOVE projections, Surplus Rumors Proposition 4 Climate Bond Roll Out Local Exposure to Federal Cost Shifts – Focus on Homelessness and Benefit Cuts Preparing for Earmark Opportunities Negotiations and Budget Committees – Next Milestone during May Revision FEDERAL UPDATES Slide 13 FY27 Budget Request kicks off federal appropriations process; Congress will ultimately set final funding levels Major shift in priorities: +43.7% defense spending, −10% non-defense discretionary spending Significant proposed cuts/eliminations to core local programs (CDBG, HOME, CoC, EPA grants, FEMA non-disaster programs) Administration framing: shift responsibility for housing, climate, and local services to states/local governments Next phase: Appropriations markups will reveal actual funding levels and earmarks over the coming months FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE: SUBMITTED PROJECTS Slide 14 Track Watch Rail Safety Program – $2,000,000 Request Natural Grass Athletic Field Pilot Program – $2,200,000 Request Cubberley Community Center Acquisition – $2,000,000 Request QUESTIONS? Slide 15 California Advocacy | Federal Advocacy | Grant Writing www.TownsendPA.com | (949) 399-9050 Carlin Shelby, Deputy Director cshelby@townsendpa.com Niccolo De Luca, Vice President/ Chief Advocacy Officer Ndeluda@townsendpa.com Alex Gibbs, Grants Director agibbs@townsendpa.com Joseph Melo, Federal Advocacy Manager jmelo@townsendpa.com