20250SB__121697AMD INTRODUCED 2026-02-19 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-04-13 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-06-11 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Senator Laird <caml:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</caml:Contribution><caml:House>SENATE</caml:House><caml:Name>Cabaldon</caml:Name></caml:Legislator>"?> LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Laird

An act to amend the Budget Act of by amending

Section 15.14 of that act, relating to the state budget, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, budget bill. the state budget, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, budget bill Budget Act of 2026. The Budget Act of would make appropriations for the support of state government for the 2026–27 fiscal year. This bill would amend the Budget Act of by amending a

section relating to appropriations. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a Budget Bill. Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine whether the housing element is in substantial compliance with those provisions, as provided.

Existing law requires the department to designate jurisdictions as prohousing pursuant to emergency regulations adopted by the department, as prescribed, and requires that jurisdictions that are prohousing and that are in substantial compliance with specified provisions be awarded additional points or preference in the scoring of applications for specified state programs. </xhtml:p><xhtml:p>This bill would require the department, on or before July of each year, to publish a list of housing leadership designated jurisdictions on its internet website.

To qualify for a housing leadership designation, the bill would require that the jurisdiction have submitted a complete annual progress report for the preceding years and, as applicable, that it meet specified requirements relating to housing production that vary based on whether the jurisdiction is an affordable jurisdiction, an unaffordable jurisdiction, or an extremely unaffordable jurisdiction, as those terms are defined. The bill would also require the department to publish a list of the affordability designation for each jurisdiction that has submitted a complete annual progress report, as provided.

The bill would authorize a jurisdiction with a housing leadership designation to take prescribed actions, including to establish by ordinance an exemption or modification of specified provisions of the Planning and Zoning Law. The bill would require that a housing element or amendment be considered in substantial compliance when the local agency adopts the housing element or amendment for the current planning period, and a jurisdiction adopts a housing element under these provisions and the department had not issued contrary written findings within days of receiving notice of the legislative body’s resolution.

The bill would also exempt a jurisdiction with a housing leadership designation from requirements to include specified analyses in the housing element. 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.</xhtml:p>"?> MAJORITY YES YES NO YES NO NO NO NO YES NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION

Section 15.14 of the Budget Act of is amended to read:

SEC. 15.14. (a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Any appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund shall be subject to the restrictions specified in subdivision (b).</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A state agency or department shall not encumber or otherwise commit any funds appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for the 2026–27 fiscal year until a determination is made by the Department of Finance that Cap-and-Invest auction proceeds in the 2026–27 fiscal year are sufficient to fully fund amounts specified in subdivisions (

a) and (

b) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (

c) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>If there are not sufficient funds to fully fund appropriations pursuant to subdivision (b), the Department of Finance shall proportionally reduce appropriations based on the amount of funding available from auction proceeds after subdivisions (

a) and (

b) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (

c) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code are fully funded.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(d)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Upon determination of the final amount of auction proceeds after the fourth Cap-and-Invest auction in the 2026–27 fiscal year, the Department of Finance shall make a final determination for the expenditure of any remaining available auction proceeds pursuant to subdivision (

d) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code, and shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee no later than days after its final determination if there are decreased auction proceeds that require a modification to the expenditure of funds.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(e)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with

Section 11340) of Part of Division of Title of the Government Code) does not apply to guidelines or other standards adopted and used by a state agency in administering an allocation of moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.</xhtml:p>"?> (

a) Notwithstanding any other law, up to $5,838,000,000 is hereby appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to fully fund all programs and costs identified in

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code, and to allocate $250,000,000 for the Zero-Emission Transit Capital Program and the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and up to $1,250,000,000 for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (b)

(1) A state department or agency shall not encumber or otherwise commit its funds appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for the 2026–27 fiscal year pursuant to this

section until either of the following occurs: (

A) The Department of Finance makes a written determination that estimates at least $5,838,000,000 will be available for appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, inclusive of interest income and fund balance, in both the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years and that no programs will receive reductions pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (

c) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code. (B) $1,000,000,000 is appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in the 2026–27 fiscal year for legislative priorities pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (

b) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code, $3,000,000 for the Legislative Counsel Climate Bureau pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (

a) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code, and all programs specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (

c) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code are projected to receive the full identified funding amounts and not be subject to any proportional or other reductions in accordance with the Cap and Invest agreement of 2025, along with accompanying budget bill language specifying that this requirement has been met. (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to $1,250,000,000 for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the amounts appropriated for the purposes described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (

a) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code, and amounts appropriated for state operations of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Office of Emergency Services, and California Conservation Corps. (

c) No later than July 6, 2026, the Department of Finance shall provide the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature updated revenue estimates for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years, incorporating as applicable the projected effects of any actions taken by the State Air Resources Board on the cap-and-invest regulation prior to that date. For purposes of implementing this subdivision, the Department of Finance shall assume that any amendments to regulations that are approved in any resolution of the State Air Resources Board before this date are adopted. (

d) Notwithstanding existing law and regulations, the State Air Resources Board shall not create or distribute any Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive allowances, or any compliance instrument above or outside of the emissions cap established by the regulation, unless all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The State Air Resources Board makes a written determination, which is reviewed and accompanied by written comments from the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee created pursuant to

Section 38591.2 of the Health and Safety Code, that the use of any such allowances or compliance instruments is consistent with the statewide emission reductions required by the latest climate change scoping plan and Division 25.5 (commencing with

Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code, including Sections 38562.2 and 38566.

(2) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission makes a written determination that providing refiners with additional allowances will lower retail gasoline prices, based on an analysis of data collected pursuant to

Section of the Public Resources Code.

(3) The Department of Finance makes a written determination estimating that at least $5,838,000,000 will be available for appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, inclusive of interest income and fund balance, in both the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years and that all programs specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (

c) of

Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code are projected to receive the full identified funding amounts and not be subject to any proportional or other reductions. (

e) Notwithstanding existing law and regulations, the State Air Resources Board shall not create or distribute any additional Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive allowances, or any additional compliance instrument above or outside of the emissions cap, beyond those established by the regulation in effect as of September 1, 2026.

SEC. 2. This act is a Budget Bill within the meaning of subdivision (

e) of

Section of

Article IV of the California Constitution and shall take effect immediately. All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Senate, April 13, 2026. (JR11)