, 2024
Golden State Republican Women
Janet Price, President
Submitted by the GSRW Legislative Analyst Committee
Valerie Evans, Lou Ann Flaherty, Val Emick and Elaine Freeman,
AB 2263, as introduced, Friedman. The California Guaranteed Income Study and Funding Act.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, subject to an appropriation for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, to administer the California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program to provide grants to eligible entities for the purpose of administering pilot programs and projects that provide a guaranteed income to participants. Existing law requires the department to prioritize funding for pilot programs and projects that serve California residents who age out of the extended foster care program and pregnant individuals.
Existing law requires the department, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to determine the methodology for, and manner of, distributing those grants, subject to certain requirements. Existing law requires the department to review and evaluate the pilot programs and projects funded pursuant to these provisions, provide a report to the Legislature regarding that review and evaluation, and post a copy of the report on its internet website.
This bill, the California Guaranteed Income Study and Funding Act, would establish the Guaranteed Income Study and Funding Act Coordinating Council, consisting of 6 members, appointed by the Legislature, as specified. The bill would require the council to seek to attain, among other things, the objective of examining the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of scaling up permanent guaranteed income programs to reach a larger proportion of California’s socially and economically vulnerable populations, focusing on regions with a high cost of living. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2026, the Legislature and the Governor to appoint 11 members to a steering committee to provide technical assistance to and approve recommendations by the Guaranteed Income Study and Funding Act Coordinating Council, as specified.
The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2027, the council to seek to obtain specified goals, including identifying local, state, and federal resources, benefits, and services that seek to prevent and end poverty in California and creating data-sharing partnerships among various federal, state, and local public and private entities. The bill would require the department to provide staff for the council.
The bill would also require an unspecified state agency administering a new direct cash transfer program or an organization seeking guaranteed income exemptions that are designed similar to a guaranteed income program created on or after July 1, 2027, to collaborate with the council to adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of the guaranteed income programs.
SECTION 1., Chapter 1.9, 18996.91 (b)(3): “Explore progressive, innovative, and equitable funding mechanisms, partnerships, and sustainable revenue sources that can support the expansion and long-term viability of permanent guaranteed income programs and ultimately redistribute wealth.”
AB 2572, as amended, Muratsuchi. Ocean carbon dioxide removal projects.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program to capture, remove, and store carbon dioxide, as provided. Existing law requires the program, among other things, to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and viability of specified technologies and to facilitate the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide from these technologies, where appropriate.
This bill would require the state board, among other things, to develop criteria to determine whether an ocean carbon dioxide removal project is environmentally safe and sustainable, and to qualify environmentally safe and sustainable projects for inclusion in carbon credit programs, including, but not limited to, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations and the market-based compliance mechanism, as provided. The bill would require the state board and any agency with a relevant financial incentive program, as specified, to consider an ocean carbon dioxide removal program to the extent the program achieves similar or better climate and environmental policy goals.
AB 3070, as introduced, Bonta. School buildings: construction plans: climate change.
Existing law establishes the State Allocation Board and specifies its membership and duties. Existing law imposes specified duties on the board with respect to the allocation and expenditure of state funds for the construction of public-school facilities. Existing law requires the board to obtain construction plans for school buildings appropriate for school districts in various climates and geographical conditions of the state and requires the plans to meet the needs of school districts that require school buildings of various sizes. Existing law authorizes these plans to include designs that promote, among other things, the efficient use of energy and water.
This bill would expressly authorize the above-described plans to also include designs that promote the use of materials and strategies to address climate change.
AB 2214, as amended, Bauer-Kahan. Ocean Protection Council: microplastics.
Existing law, the California Ocean Protection Act, establishes the Ocean Protection Council in state government to coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems to improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean resources within existing fiscal limitations, among other duties. Existing law requires, to the extent that funds are available from bonds or other sources, including from federal, state, academic, or other public or private entities, on or before December 31, 2024, the council to adopt and implement a Statewide Microplastics Strategy related to microplastic materials that pose an emerging concern for ocean health.
This bill would require, on or before March 1, 2025, the council to establish and lead an interagency coordination group to identify and recommend to the Legislature, on or before December 1, 2025, statutory changes that are needed to implement the recommendations described in the Statewide Microplastics Strategy, as specified. The bill would require the council, in coordination with the interagency coordination group, to adopt a workplan, on or before December 1, 2025, outlining who within the interagency coordination group will implement the recommendations. The bill would require the workplan to be provided to the Legislature on or before December 1, 2025. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029.
SB 1049, as introduced, Padilla. Department of Industrial Relations: living wage: report and employer certification program.
Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to, among other things, foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. Existing law requires the department to collect various forms of data, statistics, and research regarding labor within the state.
This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations, in conjunction with the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and the Director of Housing and Community Development, to develop a certification program for employers that pay a living wage, which the bill would define as the lowest wage that allows full-time and part-time wage earners to afford a decent standard of living, as specified. In order to determine a decent standard of living, the bill would require the department to examine housing costs by county, by region, and in the state and create a formula to ascertain the living wage for each county, each region, and the state. The bill, commencing in 2025, would also require the department to report to the Legislature by December 15 of each year the living wage in each county, each region, and the state and develop a method to annually adjust figures to account for housing cost inflation and inflation broadly.
Hearing: Apr 10 @ 9:30 am in 1021 O Street, Room 2200
Legislative Portal links – Express your support or opposition to a bill or directly to the Legislative committee currently reviewing it (as an individual, not as a member of RW or GSRW) – click here, or the bill’s author – click here, enter your bill # and look for tab at top of the bill page labeled “Comments to Author”.
