Energy

AB 65 (Mathis) Repeal Nuclear Moratorium – Under this proposal, development of new nuclear energy facilities in California will be permitted once again.  Nuclear power is reliable, safe, and clean, and California desperately needs such a resource to overcome its electricity challenges. (Coauthors: Arambula, Hoover) Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee

AB 1434 (Sanchez) Prohibit Ratepayer Funding of PUC Commissioners - Under this proposal, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) would be barred from using ratepayer funds to, at the very least, pay the salaries of its commissioners. This is consistent with current law’s prohibition on using ratepayer funds to compensate electrical and gas investor owned utility (IOU) executives. Status: Failed in Assembly Appropriations Committee

AB 1591 (Wallis) CEC Dashboard – Require the CEC to create an online dashboard to show the real time breakdown of how much taxes, fees, regulations, and policies contribute to the difference between California’s gas prices and the national average. Provides a clear and transparent picture of how Sacramento policies are responsible for the inflated prices California motorists pay at the pump. (Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Vince Fong, Gallagher, Lackey, Mathis, Joe Patterson) Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee

AB 1710 (Ta) Flexible Cap on Electricity Rates - This proposal restricts electric investor owned utilities’ (IOUs’) authority to increase their rates above inflation on average, unless they obtain support from a majority of customers through a customer election. Limiting California’s rampant growth in electrical rates thereby encourages the state and utilities to control energy costs. Status: Failed in Assembly Appropriations Committee

CPUC RATE RELIEF LETTER

Gas Tax Suspension

AB 16 (Dixon) Gas Tax Annual Increase Suspension – Allows the Governor to suspend the annual gas tax increase due to hardship on low-income and middle class families.  Provides an escape hatch to prevent gas taxes from automatically increasing as Californians struggle with record high gas prices and 40-year high inflation. (Coauthors: Essayli, Mathis, Joe Patterson, Ta) Status: Assembly Transportation Committee

AB 53 (Fong) Gas Tax Holiday – Suspends the state’s gas tax for one year to reduce gas prices by ~50 cents/gallon.  Enacts a “gas tax holiday” to provide immediate relief at the pump, and backfills lost transportation revenues from the state’s General Fund. (Coauthors: Chen, Megan Dahle, Mathis, Joe Patterson, Sanchez, Waldron) Status: Assembly Transportation Committee

AB 1265 (Gallagher) Eliminates Hidden Gas Tax – Repeals a regulation on transportation fuels that adds 14 cents to the price of a gallon of gasoline.  Eliminates a “hidden gas tax” and lowers prices at the pump. (Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Essayli, Flora, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Ta) Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee

AB 1561 (Gallagher) Fuel Blend Flexibility – Requires the state to transition early from summer-blend gasoline to winter-blend gasoline whenever the market experiences a sudden and unusual price spike. Creates a release valve to provide automatic relief when gas prices surge. Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee

GAS TAX LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR

Housing

AB 394 (Hoover) Encourage Housing - Provide a property tax bonus to cities and counties that approve more housing by redirecting funds from the document-recording fee (SB 2, Atkins, 2017). Incentivize locals to provide more housing production rather than imposing state mandates will speed the permit and review process, thereby increasing affordability for Californians. (Coauthors: Gallagher, Mathis) Status: Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee

AB 978 (Patterson, Joe) CEQA – Bond for Bad Faith Lawsuits - Authorize Bond Requirements for CEQA Lawsuits: Authorize a court to require someone filing a CEQA lawsuit involving a housing project to post a bond and risk having to pay money to compensate for losses to the project, like grant funding because of missed deadlines. (Coauthors: Gallagher) Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee

AB 1700 (Hoover) CEQA - Population Growth and Noise Impacts: Housing Projects – Provides that population growth, resulting from a housing project, or noise from a housing project, are not an effect on the environment for purposes of CEQA. Ensures that critical housing — such as that denied to a student housing development at UC Berkeley by the State Court of Appeals on February 24 — will not be denied due to spurious noise claims. Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee

Tax Cuts

AB 14 (Davies) Working Families Tax Credit – Provide an additional income tax credit to help working taxpayers afford the expense of child care.  Reduces state income tax an additional $500.00 for taxpayers that have child care costs. (Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Dixon, Essayli, Vince Fong, Mathis, Sanchez, Ta) Status: Failed in Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee

AB 17 (Alanis) Lower Income Tax Rates for the Middle Class – Reduce the tax burden on the middle class by reducing income tax rates for those middle- and low-income taxpayers.  Allow taxpayers to keep more of their wages. Status: Assembly Revenue & Taxation

AB 59 (Gallagher) Renters Tax Credit Expansion – Change the income eligibility for the Renters’ Tax Credit to allow more taxpayers to qualify for the benefit.  Allow more taxpayers to receive this benefit by increasing the income level to reflect the median income in California. (Coauthors: Assemblymembers Alanis, Chen, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Hoover, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson; Senators Dahle, Jones, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto) Status: Failed in Assembly Appropriations Committee

Public Safety

AB 15 (Dixon) Early Release Transparency – Requires the record of a prison inmate’s early release calculation to be made available to the public upon request – Provides that the calculation for a particular inmate’s date of release from prison is a public record which must be disclosed upon request:  This would provide that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may not withhold these types of records from public disclosure. (Coauthors: Davies, Essayli, Mathis, Joe Patterson, Ta) Status: Failed Assembly Public Safety Committee 2-6 (Aye: Alanis, Lackey)

AB 18 (Patterson, Joe) - Requires a person who is convicted of/pleads guilty to selling fentanyl to get a notice about dangers of distributing controlled substances and that if a person dies they could be charged with voluntary manslaughter or murder. (Coauthors: Alanis, Essayli, Gallagher, Jim Patterson) Status: Failed Assembly Public Safety Committee 2-5 (Aye: Alanis, Lackey)

AB 27 (Ta) Sentencing Enhancements – Exempts firearms use-related sentencing enhancements from a current law requirement judges must dismiss a sentencing enhancement if it is “in the furtherance of justice.” Instead provides that a judge would not be required to dismiss the enhancements for criminal defendants who commit felonies while armed with, or while using, firearms during the commission of a felony, ensuring these criminals will serve longer sentences. Status: Failed Assembly Public Safety Committee 2-6 (Aye: Alanis, Lackey)

AB 56 (Lackey) Victim Restitution – Expand direct restitution paid by convicted criminals to their victims to include “non-economic damages” in additional violent felony offense cases: This would add criminal offenders who commit rape, stalking, kidnapping, mayhem, human trafficking, and one kind of child sexual abuse omitted from existing law to the existing child sexual abuse exception to the general rule that direct restitution orders do not apply to the victim’s “non-economic damages.”  (Coauthors: Gallagher, Bonta, Bryan, Jones-Sawyer, Mathis, Ortega) Enrolled and Presented to the Governor, 4PM 09/20/2023 

AB 75 (Hoover & Davies) Restore Pre-Prop 47 Felonies – Increase penalties for serial theft crimes:  Reenact the penalties which existed for the crime of committing petty theft with multiple prior theft-related convictions which existed prior to their repeal by Proposition 47 of 2014.  This change requires approval by the voters. (Coauthors: Mathis) Status: Failed Assembly Public Safety Committee 2-6 (Aye: Alanis, Lackey)

AB 88 (Sanchez) Enhance Crime Victims’ Rights – AB 88 will ensure that crime victims are able to meaningfully exercise their existing rights during parole hearings. Specifically, the bill will prevent the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from requiring more than 15 days’ notice from crime victims, their next of kin, their family members, victims support persons, or their legal counsel as to whether they wish to participate in parole hearings. The bill will also clarify that regardless of whether the prosecution and defense attorneys agree to forego an in court hearing on the petition of resentencing, crime victims may request to be heard. (Principal coauthor: Senator Alvarado-Gil; Coauthors: Assemblymembers Megan Dahle, Gallagher) Enrolled and Presented to the Governor, 3:30PM 09/21/2023

AB 303 (Davies) Armed & Prohibited Persons System (APPS) Reform – Requires the California Attorney General’s Office to share any investigative reports and notes on individuals on the APPS with local law enforcement agencies. Allows greater local enforcement of APPS. Chaptered by Secretary of State 09/08/2023

AB 328 (Essayli) Gun Violence – Restore the mandatory nature of the 10-20-Life law firearms enhancements:  This will ensure that anyone who brandishes, discharges, or inflicts great bodily injury with a firearm during the commission of a specified violent felony will be held accountable. (Coauthors: Assembly members Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Davies, Flora, Gallagher, Lackey, Mathis, Joe Patterson, Waldron – Senate Members Dahle, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto) Status: Failed Assembly Public Safety Committee 2-6 (Aye: Alanis, Lackey)

AB 330 (Dixon) Access to Domestic Violence Information for Survivor Empowerment (ADVISE) Act – Requires the Office of Emergency Services to host and update a website with resources and key information for victims of domestic violence: This would include key details about laws and services available to victims of domestic violence, in at least five languages. (Principal coauthor: Lackey; Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Davies, Essayli, Gallagher, Ta) Status: Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee

AB 335 (Alanis) Repeal Prop 47 – Requires the Little Hoover Commission to study and issue a report with recommendations relating to retail theft, shoplifting, and organized retail theft, as specified.  Requires the commission to include any findings and recommendations relating to laws, policies, and practices regarding retail theft, shoplifting, and organized retail theft in California in the report.  Requires the report to be submitted to the Legislature by January 1, 2026.  Requires an in-depth study of retail theft and related crimes and the response to those crimes by the criminal justice system. (Coauthor: Senator Alvarado-Gil) Status: Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee

AB 641 (Fong, Vince) Catalytic Converter Theft – Makes it illegal to possess two or more used and detached catalytic converters without a legitimate purpose. Closes a loophole that prevents charging catalytic converter thieves found in possession of multiple detached converters. (Principal coauthor: Jim Patterson; Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Joe Patterson, Ta, Wallis) Enrolled and Presented to Governor, 4PM 09/15/2023

AB 890 (Patterson, Joe) - Provides that whenever a court grants probation to a person who commits drug possession, possession for sale, or sale/transportation/manufacturing of a controlled substance involving fentanyl, carfentanil, benzimidazole opiate, or an analog of those drugs, the trial court would be required to complete a "fentanyl and synthetic opiate education program, if one is available.  Requires the Department of Public Health to approve the programs and establish curriculum and oversight.  Requires the course to include specified components.  Requires drug offenders who commit fentanyl and related drug offenses to be educated about the danger of these drugs and existing laws and harm reduction policies. Enrolled and Presented to Governor, 3:30PM 09/21/2023

AB 1058 (Patterson, Jim) Restructuring Penalty for Possession of Fentanyl - will address the fentanyl epidemic by restructuring the penalty for possession of large quantities of fentanyl and its analogs, targeting dealers and not their victims. (Coauthors: Alanis) Status: Failed in Assembly Public Safety Committee. Reconsideration Granted.

AB 1368 (Lackey) Sexual Assault Forensic Kits - Requires backlog of sexual assault forensic evidence kits to be tested (i.e. kits collected before 2016). (Coauthors: Chen, Megan Dahle, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Gipson, Joe Patterson, Ta, Wallis) Status: Failed in Assembly Appropriations Committee