20250SB__102096AMD INTRODUCED 2026-02-10 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-03-16 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-04-14 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-04-27 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Senator Niello (Coauthor: Assembly Member Gallagher) LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Niello COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Gallagher

An act to amend Sections 8557, 8627, and 8690.6 of, and to add Sections 8550.1 and 8629.1 to, the Government Code, relating to a state of emergency. a state of emergency State of emergency: Governor’s powers and annual report.

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act (CESA), among other things, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency in an area affected by, or likely to be affected by, conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state if specified local officials request the proclamation or the Governor determines that local authority is inadequate to cope with the emergency.

During a state of emergency, existing law confers on the Governor, to the extent the Governor deems necessary, complete authority over all agencies of the state government and the right to exercise within the area designated all police power vested in the state by the Constitution and laws of the state to effectuate the purposes of the CESA. Existing law requires the Governor, in the exercise of that authority, to promulgate, issue, and enforce orders and regulations as the Governor deems necessary.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature, in enacting the CESA, to provide flexibility for the administration to respond to emergencies, but not an alternative legislative, budget, or regulatory process. The bill would further state that, to the greatest extent possible, additional spending should be undertaken through the Legislature’s budget and policy process, as defined, and changes to law or regulation should be undertaken through state legislation.

This bill would further require the Governor, in cases where the Governor orders the suspension or modification of existing statutes or regulations, including the state Budget Act, or promulgates new statutes or regulations, to demonstrate in each order the need for those suspensions, modifications, or promulgations and specify the general reasons why the Legislature’s budget and policy processes are insufficient to address these needs. Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim the termination of a state of emergency at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.

Existing law requires all of the powers granted to the Governor by the CESA with respect to a state of emergency to terminate when the state of emergency has been terminated by proclamation of the Governor or by concurrent resolution of the Legislature declaring it at an end.</xhtml:p><p>This bill would automatically terminate an active state of emergency at the end of the next fiscal year following the Governor’s proclamation unless the Governor issues a proclamation to renew the state of emergency, as specified.

The bill would require the Governor, before issuing a renewal proclamation, to review the state of emergency and corresponding executive orders to determine whether they need to remain in effect. In the event that a subsequent emergency occurs under the original state of emergency, the bill would prohibit any powers from impeding the ability to respond.

The</p>"?> The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services, on or before July 1, 2027, and on or before July of each year thereafter, to prepare and submit a prescribed annual report to the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst’s Office consisting of a review of all open state of emergency proclamations. Existing law establishes the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties.

Moneys in the account are continuously appropriated, subject to specified limitations, for allocation by the Director of Finance to state agencies for disaster response operation costs incurred by state agencies as a result of a state of emergency proclamation by the Governor. Existing law requires funds to be allocated from the account subject to certain conditions and upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature in enacting existing law to provide flexibility for the administration in response to unanticipated emergency expenses. The bill would further state that existing law does not provide an alternative budget process, and proposals for additional spending ordinarily should be considered in the annual state budget or other state legislation to the greatest extent possible, as specified.

The bill would require notification by the Director of Finance to include certain information, including a description of the entities that will receive funding allocations from the account. MAJORITY NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION

Section 8550.1 is added to the Government Code , to read: 8550.1. It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this chapter, to provide flexibility for the administration to respond to emergencies. However, this

chapter does not provide an alternative legislative, budget, or regulatory process. To the greatest extent possible: (

a) Additional spending should be undertaken through the Legislature’s budget and policy processes, as defined in subdivision (

i) of

Section 8557. (

b) Changes to law or regulation should be undertaken through state legislation.

SEC. 2.

Section of the Government Code is amended to read: 8557. (a) “State agency” means any department, division, independent establishment, or agency of the executive branch of the state government. (b) “Political subdivision” includes any city, city and county, county, district, or other local governmental agency or public agency authorized by law. (c) “Governing body” means the legislative body, trustees, or directors of a political subdivision. (d) “Chief executive” means that individual authorized by law to act for the governing body of a political subdivision. (e) “Disaster council” and “disaster service worker” have the meanings as prescribed in

Chapter 1 (commencing with

Section 3200) of Part of Division of the Labor Code. (f) “Public facility” means any facility of the state or a political subdivision, which facility is owned, operated, or maintained, or any combination thereof, through moneys derived by taxation or assessment. (g) “Sudden and severe energy shortage” means a rapid, unforeseen shortage of energy, resulting from, but not limited to, events such as an embargo, sabotage, or natural disasters, and that has a statewide, regional, or local impact. (

h) For purposes of this chapter, a “deenergization event” means a planned power outage, undertaken by an electrical corporation, as defined in

Section of the Public Utilities Code, to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by utility equipment, pursuant to Public Utilities Commission Resolution ESRB-8 and any decisions issued by the commission, the former Wildfire Safety Division, as set forth in former

Section of the Public Utilities Code, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, or any other agency with authority over electrical corporations.

A deenergization event begins when an electrical corporation provides notice to any state agency or political subdivision of the potential need to initiate a planned deenergization of the electrical grid, and ends when the electrical corporation restores electrical services to all deenergized customers, or when the electrical corporation cancels the deenergization event for some or all of its affected customers, and rescinds the notice of the potential need to initiate the deenergization event.

A deenergization event does not include any planned outages in connection with regular utility work. (i) “Legislature’s budget and policy processes” means the regular and extraordinary legislative appropriations, budget, and statutory processes provided under

Article IV of the California Constitution; the Senate Rules, Assembly Rules, and Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly; and any related statute.

SEC. 3.

Section of the Government Code is amended to read: 8627. (

a) During a state of emergency, the Governor, to the extent the Governor deems necessary, shall have complete authority over all agencies of the state government and the right to exercise within the area designated all police power vested in the state by the Constitution and laws of the State of California in order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. (

b) In cases where the Governor orders the suspension or modification of existing statutes or regulations, including the state Budget Act, or promulgates new statutes or regulations, the Governor shall demonstrate in each order the need for those suspensions, modifications, or promulgations and specify the general reasons why the Legislature’s budget and policy processes are insufficient to address these needs. <caml:Num>SEC. 4.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:GOV:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'TITLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'1.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'7.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'ARTICLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'13.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'8629.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION" xlink:type="locator">Section of the <caml:DocName>Government Code</caml:DocName> is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_8B73D987-4587-4DA1-9F4C-7C3F1B49BEDF"><caml:Num>8629.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_1349067E-05C2-4CE6-9F49-F2460F875E20"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The Governor shall proclaim the termination of a state of emergency at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A state of emergency proclaimed pursuant to

Section that has not been terminated by the Governor pursuant to subdivision (

a) shall automatically terminate at the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year of the Governor’s proclamation unless the Governor issues a proclamation deeming it necessary to renew the state of emergency in accordance with this section.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Before issuing a renewal proclamation, the Governor shall review the state of emergency and corresponding executive orders to determine whether they need to remain in effect.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>In the event that a subsequent emergency occurs under the original state of emergency, no powers shall impede the ability to respond. </xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(d)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>All of the powers granted the Governor by this

chapter with respect to a state of emergency shall terminate when either of the following occur:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The state of emergency terminates by proclamation of the Governor or by concurrent resolution of the Legislature declaring it at an end.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The state of emergency terminates pursuant to subdivision (b).</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection>"?>

SEC.

Section 8629.1 is added to the Government Code , to read: 8629.1. (

a) On or before July 1, 2027, and on or before July of each year thereafter, the Office of Emergency Services shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst’s Office consisting of a review of all open state of emergency proclamations. (

b) The report required by subdivision (

a) shall include all of the following information:

(1) The conditions that warrant continuing or ending each state of emergency.

(2) The amount of actual expenditures on each state of emergency, including state spending and federal reimbursements.

(3) The local assistance provided to political subdivisions for response and recovery, to the extent known at the time of the report.

(4) Information on any item of concern or lesson learned relating to each state of emergency that the Office of Emergency Services determines the Legislature should be informed of to help improve the state’s emergency response process, including recommendations for statutory change.

SEC.

Section 8690.6 of the Government Code is amended to read: 8690.6. (

a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this

section to provide flexibility for the administration in response to unanticipated emergency expenses. However, this

section does not provide an alternative budget process, and proposals for additional spending ordinarily should be considered in the annual state budget or other state legislation to the greatest extent possible. Specifically, augmentations for items that the administration had knowledge to include in its annual budget request, or that could be obtained through legislation with an appropriation, should not be pursued through the process provided by this section, unless the Governor determines that seeking the funds through the Legislature’s budget and policy process, as defined in

Section 8557, would negatively impact response or recovery activities. (

b) The Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account is hereby established in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties. Notwithstanding

Section 13340, moneys in the account are continuously appropriated, subject to the limitations specified in subdivisions (c), (d), and (e), without regard to fiscal years, for allocation by the Director of Finance to state agencies for disaster response operation costs incurred by state agencies as a result of a proclamation by the Governor of a state of emergency, as defined in subdivision (

b) of

Section 8558. For the purposes of this section, “disaster response operations costs” is defined as costs that are immediate and necessary to deal with an ongoing or emerging crisis. These allocations may be for activities that occur within days after a proclamation of emergency by the Governor. (

c) Funds shall be allocated from the account subject to the conditions of this

section and upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house. Notification by the Director of Finance shall include all of the following:

(1) A description of why the funds are being allocated through the process provided by this

section rather than the Legislature’s budget and policy process, as defined in

Section 8557.

(2) A description of the entities that will receive funding allocations from the account.

(3) The amount of funding each entity will receive.

(4) A description of how each entity will use the funding.

(5) A description of how the amount needed by each entity was estimated. (

d) Notwithstanding the time limit established by subdivision (

b) regarding disaster response activities that may be funded through the account, upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house before the expiration of the 120-day period, extensions for allocations for activities that occur after the 120-day period may occur in up to 120-day increments.

Any extensions beyond the initial days shall not extend beyond the end of the fiscal year in which the Director of Finance gives notice of the first extension, or the date upon which the Budget Act for the fiscal year that follows the fiscal year during which the director gave notice of the first extension is enacted, whichever is later. Each extension of up to days will occur upon notification to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house before the expiration of the initial 120-day period or the prior extension. (

e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account have an unencumbered balance of one million dollars ($1,000,000) at the beginning of each fiscal year. If this account requires additional moneys to meet claims against the account, the Director of Finance may transfer moneys from the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties to the account in an amount sufficient to pay the amount of the claims that exceed the unencumbered balance in the account. (

f) Notwithstanding any other law, authorizations for acquisitions, relocations, and environmental mitigations related to activities, described in subdivision (b), shall be authorized pursuant to this section. However, these funds shall be authorized only for needs that are a direct consequence of the proclaimed emergency if failure to undertake the project may interrupt essential state services or jeopardize public health or safety. In addition, any acquisition accomplished under this subdivision shall comply with any otherwise applicable law, except as provided in the first sentence of this subdivision. (

g) Funds allocated under this

section shall not be used to supplant federal funds otherwise available in the absence of state financial relief. (

h) The amount of financial assistance provided to an individual, business, or governmental entity under this section, or pursuant to any other program of state-funded disaster assistance, shall be deducted from sums received in payment of damage claims asserted against the state, its agents, or its employees, for causing or contributing to the effects of the proclaimed disaster. (

i) Any public entity administering disaster assistance to individuals shall not receive funds under this

section unless it administers that assistance pursuant to the following criteria:

(1) All applications, forms, and other written materials presented to persons seeking assistance shall be available in English and in the same language used by the major non-English-speaking group within the disaster area.

(2) Bilingual staff who reflect the demographics of the disaster area shall be available to applicants. (

j) Notwithstanding any other law, funds in the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account shall not be expended for conditions in the state’s prisons, medical facilities, or youth correctional facilities resulting solely from the action or inaction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in administering those facilities.