California Regulatory Notice Register — Register 2024, No. 49-Z (DECEMBER 6, 2024)

Cal. Reg. Notice Reg. 2024, No. 49

California Z Register

Time- Dated Material GAVIN NEWSOM, GOVERNOR OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW California Regulatory Notice Register REGISTER 2024, NUMBER 49–Z PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW DECEMBER 6, 2024 PROPOSED ACTION ON REGULATIONS TITLE 4. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION FINANCING AUTHORITY Commercial Energy Efficiency Financing Program — Notice File Number Z2024–1126–03 .................... 1581 TITLE 5. STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION Instructional Materials Sufficiency — Notice File Number Z2024–1025–01 ................................. 1586 TITLE 9.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE HOSPITALS Conflict–of–Interest Code — Notice File Number Z2024–1107–03 ........................................ 1589 TITLE 13. NEW MOTOR VEHICLE BOARD Definition of Administrative Law Judge — Notice File Number Z2024–1119–04 ............................. 1590 TITLE 13. NEW MOTOR VEHICLE BOARD Format of Fillings — Notice File Number Z2024–1119–03 .............................................. 1593 TITLE 14.

BOARD OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION Apprentice Professional Forester Educational Program Proposal, 2024 — Notice File Number Z2024–1122–03 ................................................................................ 1596 TITLE 14. BOARD OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION Fire Risk Reduction Community List Amendments, 2025 — Notice File Number Z2024–1122–01 ................ 1600 TITLE 14.

BOARD OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zone Amendments, 2025 — Notice File Number Z2024–1122–02 ................................................................................ 1604 TITLE 15. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION Parole Discharge and Voting Rights — Notice File Number Z2024–1119–05 ................................ 1608 TITLE 19. OFFICE OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL Automatic Extinguishing Systems, Fee Increase — Notice File Number Z2024–1125–03 ....................... 1610 (Continued on next page)

TITLE 25.

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program Certificate of Compliance Package — Notice File Number Z2024–1121–01 ......................................................................... 1614 GENERAL PUBLIC INTEREST DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE Consistency Determination Number 2080–2024–018–04, San Juan School Reconstruction Project, San Benito County .............................................................................. 1618 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE Redding Riffle Spawning Habitat Project (Tracking Number: 1653–2024–151–001–R1), Shasta County .......... 1623 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE Risk Assessment Mitigation Program 2024 Revisions Affecting Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery — 45–Day Continuation of Notice Originally Published in the April 5, 2024, Notice Register 2024, Number 14–Z .................................................................................. 1624 DEPARTMENT OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL De Minimis Settlement for the BKK Class 1 Landfill .................................................... 1628 OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARD ASSESSMENT Updated Public Health Goal (PHG) for N–nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) ................................. 1630 RULEMAKING PETITION DECISION DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION Petition — Frank Lanear — Family Visiting .......................................................... 1631

SUMMARY OF REGULATORY ACTIONS Regulations filed with Secretary of State ............................................................. 1632 The California Regulatory Notice Register is an official state publication of the Office of Administrative Law containing notices of proposed regulatory actions by state regulatory agencies to adopt, amend or repeal regulations contained in the California Code of Regulations. The effective period of a notice of proposed regulatory action by a state agency in the California Regulatory Notice Register shall not exceed one year [Government Code § 11346.4(b)].

It is suggested, therefore, that issues of the California Regulatory Notice Register be retained for a minimum of 18 months. CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER is published weekly by the Office of Administrative Law, 300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1250, Sacramento, CA 95814-4339. The Register is printed by Barclays, a subsidiary of West, a Thomson Reuters Business, and is offered by subscription for $372.00 (annual price). To order or make changes to current subscriptions, please call (800) 328−4880. The Register can also be accessed at https://oal.ca.gov .

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1581 PROPOSED ACTION ON REGULATIONS Information contained in this document is published as received from agencies and is not edited by Thomson Reuters. TITLE 4. A LTERNATIVE ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION FINANCING AUTHORITY The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (the “Authority” or “CAEATFA”), organized and operating pursuant to Division 16 (commencing with

section 26000) of the California Public Resources Code (the “Act”) — pur - suant to the authority vested in it by the Public Re - sources Code

Section 26009 to promulgate regula - tions and Public Resources Code

Section 26011 to pro- vide financial assistance to a participating party, and acting pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) between CAEATFA and the California Pub- lic Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) which sets forth the policies and procedures for establishment of a se - ries of ratepayer–funded pilot programs as authorized and described in the initial CPUC–approved Decision 13–09–044, Decision Implementing 2013–14 Energy Efficiency Financing Pilot Programs (the “Decision”), issued September 20, 2013 and subsequent CPUC ac - tions 1 — proposes to amend the Commercial Energy Efficiency Financing Program regulations described below after considering all comments, objections, and recommendations regarding the proposed action.

The Commercial Energy Efficiency Financing Program is known publicly as the “GoGreen Business Program” and is also referred to in this document as “Program.” PUBLIC HEARING The Authority has not scheduled a public hearing on this proposed rulemaking.

However, a public hearing will be held if any interested person, or their duly au- thorized representative, requests a public hearing to be held relevant to the proposed rulemaking by submit - ting a written request to the Agency Contact Person identified in this notice no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the close of the written comment period. 1 C P U C h a s i s s u e d a d d i t i o n a l d e c i s i o n s a n d r u l i n g s a d d r e s s- ing issues related to the implementation of the pilot programs, including: D. 15–06–008, D. 15–12–002, D. 17–03–026; and D.21.08.006.

WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD Any interested person, or their authorized represen- tatives may submit written comments relevant to the regulations to the Authority. The written comment period on the regulations ends on Monday, Jan - uary 20, 2025. All comments must be submitted in writing to cheef@treasurer.ca.gov by that time in or - der for them to be considered by the Authority.

In the event that substantial changes are made to the regulations during the written comment peri - od, the Authority will also accept additional written comments limited to any changed or modified regu- lations for fifteen (15) calendar days after the date on which such regulations, as changed or modified, are made available to the public pursuant to Title 1, Di - vision 1,

Chapter 1,

Article 2,

Section 44 of the Cal - ifornia Code of Regulations. Such additional written comments should be addressed to the Agency Contact Person identified in this notice. AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE Authority: Public Resources Code

Section 26006 and

Section 26006 and 26009 of the Public Resources Code authorizes the Authority to adopt necessary reg- ulations relating to its authority established by the Act, and Public Resources Code 26011 establishes the au- thority to provide financial assistance to a participat - ing party. Reference: Public Resources Code Sections 26002, 26002.5, 26003(a) (3) (A), 26003(a) (6), 26003(a) (7) (A), 26003(a) (8) (A), 26011 and 26040.

On September 19, 2013, the CPUC approved Deci - sion 13–09–044 and requested the Authority act as the master administrator of the California Hub for Ener - gy Efficiency Financing (“CHEEF”), funded by rate - payer funds collected by the four investor–owned util- ities: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edi - son Company, and Southern California Gas Compa- ny (collectively the “IOUs”).

CAEATFA ’s purpose is to advance the State’s goals of reducing the levels of greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the deployment of sustainable and renewable energy sources, imple - menting measures that increase the efficiency of the use of energy, creating high quality employment op - portunities, and lessening the State’s dependence on fossil fuels. The Authority’s statute enables it to pro - vide financial assistance to various participating parties that carry out eligible projects.

In July 2014, CAEATFA received initial Legislative budget authori- ty to administer the CHEEF functions and subsequent- ly entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1582 CPUC and a receivables contract with the IOUs to im- plement the CHEEF. INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW Existing law establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Au - thority and authorizes the Authority to provide “finan- cial assistance” to “participating parties” for the im - plementation of “projects” as those terms are defined in Public Resources Code

Section 26003. A Memo - randum of Agreement between CAEATFA and the CPUC sets forth the policies and procedures for estab- lishment of a series of ratepayer–funded programs as authorized and described in the CPUC–approved De - cision 13–09–044, Decision Implementing 2013–14 Energy Efficiency Financing Pilot Programs, and as - sociated governing actions (“Decision”). The Decision established the California Hub for Energy Efficient Financing (“CHEEF”) to be admin - istered by CAEATFA.

CAEATFA was authorized to develop and implement a number of energy efficien - cy financing programs, intended to attract a greater amount of private capital to the energy efficiency ret - rofit market. The programs would make use of a credit enhancement to mitigate risk for finance companies, allowing them to offer more attractive rates and terms and to approve financing for individuals and business- es who might not be approved otherwise. The Deci - sion also authorized on–bill repayment for several sec- tors including the commercial sector.

Through on–bill repayment, customers can repay energy–related fi - nance agreements through their utility bills. The Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) first ap- proved emergency regulations for the Commercial En- ergy Efficiency Financing Program in December 2018. Following a period of financing company and contrac- tor enrollment, the program was launched for small business participants in May 2019. The Certificate of Compliance was completed in December 2019.

The Program was initially known publicly as the “Small Business Financing Program” and, beginning in Au - gust 2021, as the “GoGreen Business Energy Financ - ing Program” or just “GoGreen Business.” At the beginning of 2020, GoGreen Business was starting to gain momentum with contractor and proj - ect developer enrollments when, due to the pandemic, many small businesses shut down. Additionally, inves- tor–owned utilities (“IOUs”) paused energy efficiency program outreach that was critical for small business’ awareness of the types of upgrades they could make.

Since businesses have reopened, the need for energy efficiency financing has resumed. CAEATFA had re - ceived industry feedback related to eligible measures and the need for smaller dollar financing amounts than finance companies could practically offer through the program. Further, significant progress had been made between CAEATFA and the IOUs in reaching agree - ment on key aspects of the on–bill repayment struc - ture and operations. To this end, and to allow for ad - equate time for the regular rulemaking process, Au - thority staff proposed making modifications through the emergency process in May 2021.

As part of the emergency rulemaking, CAEATFA made publicly available the proposed modified emer - gency stakeholder regulations, held stakeholder dis - cussions soliciting input, and conducted a virtual pub- lic workshop on May 21, 2021, followed by a 10–day public comment period. Emergency regulations were initially approved by OAL on July 19th, 2021 (OAL File Number 2021–0707–01E) with subsequent ap - proval by OAL for readoption on December 30th, 2021 (OAL File Number2021–1221–01EE) and April 12th, 2022 (OAL File Number 2022–0405–01EE).

The Certificate of Compliance action made perma - nent, with minor amendments, emergency regulations regarding the Commercial Energy Efficiency Financ - ing Program on August 15t, 2022 (2022–0701–02C). Under Decision 23–08–026, published in the sum - mer of 2023, the CPUC authorized CAEATFA to be - gin using its current funding source, IOU energy effi - ciency ratepayer funds, to credit enhance financing for comprehensive clean energy measures. In the emer - gency modifications to regulations adopted in May of 2024, CAEATFA made substantial changes to incor - porate the key modifications into the Program.

Given the time–intensive nature of the amendments and un - anticipated staff vacancies, it was necessary to readopt the emergency regulations, with no additional modi - fications from the initial emergency action, to allow CAEATFA enough time to complete the Certificate of Compliance. On November 4, 2024, the Office of Ad- ministrative Law (OAL) approved the readoption of emergency regulations for the GoGreen Business En - ergy Financing Program. These regulations became effective on November 13, 2024, and are effective un- til February 11, 2025.

The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA) is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with pro - posed regulation text for the regular rulemaking pro - cess for the Commercial Energy Efficiency Financ - ing (“GoGreen Business”) Program. The Notice is planned to be published in the California Regulato - ry Notice Register on December 6, 2024. These reg - ulations will complete the rulemaking process initiat - ed by the emergency regulations enacted on May 13, 2024, and re–adopted on November 13, 2024 and with second readoption planned for February 2025.

The public comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will end on January 20, 2025.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1583 Anticipated Benefits of the Proposed Action: Adding distributed generation, battery storage, EV charging and other Eligible Energy Measures will en - able more California businesses to receive financing for more types of energy projects which will ultimate- ly help to accelerate the reduction of energy consump- tion and greenhouse gas emissions.

Adding rules for affordable multifamily project enrollment and related loss reserve calculations will encourage the program’s enrolled financing companies to provide financing to affordable multifamily customers so they can com - plete more comprehensive energy retrofits. Extending the loss reserve claim period will help the program align with current financing repayment timeframes for clean energy measures such as solar photovolta - ic (PV).

Conditional eligibility expansion for non– IOU funding will help the program expand its fund - ing source options with greater flexibility to qualify different customer types and offer different types of financial assistance. Expansion of participant rules for On–Bill Repayment enrollment and Interest Rate Buy Down (IRBD) promotion rules will help these pro - gram features appeal to more customers, contractors and finance companies. Evaluation of Inconsistency/Incompatibility with Existing State Regulations: Government Code

Section 11346.5(a) (3) (

D) re - quires that the notice of proposed rulemaking include, “[an] evaluation of whether the proposed regulation is inconsistent or incompatible with existing state reg - ulations.” CAEATFA ’s Staff reviewed the California Code of Regulations and found no existing regula - tions with which there might be inconsistency or in - compatibility. Therefore, CAEATFA believes that the proposed regulation is neither inconsistent nor incom- patible with existing state regulations.

DISCLOSURES REGARDING THE PROPOSED ACTION The Executive Director of CAEATFA has made the following determinations regarding the effect of the regulations: Mandate on local agencies or school districts: None. Cost or savings to any state agency: None. Cost to any local agency or school district which must be reimbursed in accordance with Govern - ment Code sections 17500 through 17630: None. Other nondiscretionary cost or savings imposed on local agencies: None. Cost or savings in federal funding to the state: None. Significant effect on housing costs: None.

Significant, statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting businesses including the abili - ty of California businesses to compete with busi - nesses in other states: The Authority has made the determination that the proposed regulations will not have a significant, statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting businesses, including the ability of California businesses to compete with businesses in other states. Participation in the Program is voluntary for California businesses.

For those businesses that choose to participate, they are likely to access financ - ing at better rates and terms than they would find out - side of the Program, which provides a benefit. In fact, the Authority finds that the proposed regulation will have a positive effect on the participating customers as well as the State’s economy and environment gen - erally as a result of reducing the cost of financing, po- tential utility bill savings and reduction of greenhouse gases. Effect on Small Business: The proposed regula - tions will not have an adverse impact on small busi - nesses in California.

Participation in the program is voluntary and designed to offer access to attractive fi- nancing that a small business otherwise may not have. Cost Impacts on Representative Private Person or Business: The Authority is not aware of any cost impacts that a representative private person or busi - ness would necessarily incur in reasonable compli - ance with the proposed action.

RESULTS OF ECONOMIC I M PACT A NA LYSIS The Authority finds that the regulations will have a positive effect on the state’s economy as studies have cited access to attractive financing as a significant im- pediment for businesses to invest in energy upgrades. Therefore, the Authority finds there may be increased economic activity for manufacturers and installers of energy efficiency measures, finance companies who participate in the Program, and contractors and project developers who participate in the program.

Addition - ally, businesses that make energy upgrades are likely to experience energy savings which could be reinvest- ed into their businesses and into the state economy as a whole.

Creation or Elimination of California Jobs: The Authority finds that the regulations may have a posi - tive impact on the creation of jobs within California, through manufacturers of energy efficiency measures benefitting from increased demand, contractors and project developers hired to install measures and from businesses participating in the Program who save on energy bills and are able to reinvest those savings into their businesses and hire additional workers. The Au - thority has not estimated the number of green jobs that may be created as a result of this Program as partici - pation is voluntary.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1584 Creation of new businesses or Elimination of ex - isting businesses with California: As the regulations provide an incentive to finance companies offering credit to California business owners, the elimination of businesses within California is improbable. The regulations are unlikely to significantly affect the cre- ation of new businesses within the State of California.

Expansion of Existing Businesses in California: The Authority finds there would be increased econom- ic activity for certain businesses of project developers and contractors who conduct energy efficiency retro - fits, thus potentially expanding existing businesses. Benefits of The Regulation to The Health and Welfare of California Residents, Worker Safety, and The State’s Environment: The goal of the Pro - gram is to increase access to financing for California businesses to invest in energy efficient upgrades, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping meet California’s ambitious environmental goals.

As the amendments make the Program more at - tractive to finance companies, contractors, project de - velopers, and small business borrowers, there may be additional reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and an improvement of air quality. This could bene - fit the state’s environment and residents’ health. These amendments will have no impact on worker safety. Further, the amendments may benefit the state’s fis - cal health by incentivizing finance companies to en - ter into financing agreements and offer new products to borrowers who wish to make an energy efficiency investment.

SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES AND ADDITIONS

Section 10092.1.

Definitions. This

section defines terms commonly used through- out the regulations and Program documents. Updates to defined terms in this

Section serve the following purposes in the regulations as a whole: to allow for eligibility of clean energy generation and storage measures including solar panels and batteries, to incorporate affordable multifamily as an eligible customer type in the program, to broaden eligibility based on customer type and/ or customer utility territory using non–IOU ratepayer sources of funding pursuant to § 10092.16, to expand program eligibility requirements and make other clarifying changes. §10092.2. Finance Entity Enrollment. Changes to this

section remove a requirement that finance company applicants certify that enhanced fi - nancing may not be for distributed generation, which is no longer applicable.

Section 10092.4. Contractor and Project Developer Participation. This

section establishes the Participating Contrac - tor and Participating Project Developer requirements and responsibilities in the Program. Changes to this

section remove a restriction which required that Eli - gible Contractors not be an employee of the Eligible Commercial Financing Customer, and clarify the con- ditions for Participating Contractors and Participating Project Developers removal from the program’s web - site and removal from the program.

Section 10092.5. Eligible Financing Products. Changes to this

section remove the requirement that Eligible Financing Agreements must not exceed $5 million and remove a requirement that a Finan - cial Provider Entity (FPE) must take security interest in projects financed with an Affordable Multifamily Customer.

Section 10092.6 Eligible Financing Customers. This

section establishes the minimum credit and un- derwriting requirements that apply to Eligible Com - mercial Financing Customers. Changes to this

section add an exception to the pos- itive profit requirement for Affordable Multifamily Customers, and add a mortgage review requirement for Affordable Multifamily Customers.

Section 10092.7 Project Eligibility. This

section includes

definitions of energy–related installations that can qualify for financing through the program. This

section is being updated to remove re - quirements that measures save fuel for IOUs, in line with the expanded eligibility for alternative sources of funding added in §10092.16. New requirements were added for qualifying Eligible Energy Measures using the Professionally Certified Measure Method.

Section 10092.8. Financing Submittal and Enrollment. The purpose of this

section is to detail the full re - quirements for Project Eligibility, including the docu- mentation, data, and signed certifications that must be submitted by each participant to the authority for the Eligible Financing Agreement for a Project to enroll in the Program. Changes to this

section update project submission requirements to allow for Affordable Multifamily Customers, to broaden

definitions to allow participa - tion by utilities other than IOUs, remove a requirement for a contractor invoice to be provided to the program, allow a self–installed project to be certified before in - stallation, and to update eligibility requirements to al - low for clean energy generation and storage measures.

Section 10092.9. Credit Enhancement. Changes to the

section add a different calculation for loss reserves for affordable multifamily projects.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1585

Section 10092.10. Claims. The purpose of this

section is to establish the pro - cess and terms whereby a Finance Provider Entity may claim and receive reimbursement for a loss in - curred from an Eligible Commercial Financing Cus - tomer’s default on an Enrolled Financing Agreement. Changes to this

section extend the period during which a claim may be submitted to 15 years from enrollment, or 20 years in the case of solar PV installations.

Section 10092.13. Energy Financing Privacy Rights Disclosure. The purpose of this

section is to discuss the Eligi - ble Commercial Financing Customer’s privacy rights relating to information collected through the Program and to obtain approval and acknowledgement that au - thorizes the Participating Project Developer, Partici - pating Contractors, IOUs, and Finance Provider Entity to share information, some of which may be personal- ly identifiable, with the authority. The title of this

section is being modified for clarity.

Section 10092.14. Eligible Energy Measure List. This

section lists pre–qualified Eligible Energy Measures (“EEMs”) by category, including require - ments, fuel type, and whether the measure is eligible for self–installation. This

section is separate from re - quirements for the Professionally Certified Measure Method described in 10092.7(b) (3), but this List also serves to indicate to stakeholders the types of installa- tions that may qualify for the program. A new category of six clean energy measures is be - ing added, along with seventeen new energy efficiency measures. Clarifications to the language of three mea- sures are being added, along with a new Energy Star requirement for another existing measure.

Section 10092.15. On–Bill Repayment. The purpose of this

section is to provide rules gov - erning a mechanism, known as On–Bill Repayment (“OBR”) by which a utility customer repays third– party private capital financing charges when they pay their monthly utility bill. Including this feature as an option in the Program for customers to avoid making an additional monthly payment and to address their energy improvement costs through their utility bill is intended to attract additional business owners to save energy and additional finance company participation. This

section is being updated to allow other types of utilities beyond IOUs to participate in OBR. The de - fined term IOU was globally replaced in most cases to allow other forms of utilities to participate in OBR. The allowed fifteen–year threshold for repayment through OBR was modified to allow twenty years for projects including solar PV and battery storage. Language regarding tariffs allows other types of utilities participating in OBR to define rules of partial payments other than through IOU Tariffs.

Section 10092.16. Conditional Eligibility Expansion. This new

section details the process and rules around the potential future availability of non–IOU–ratepayer funding to fund credit enhancements when measures do not save IOU fuel or there is a fuel substitute to a non–IOU source, and to use alternate sources of fund- ing such as federal funds to allow for additional means of financial assistance to incentivize customers. While there is some flexibility within the existing Regulations, this addition will allow GoGreen Busi - ness to simplify eligibility rules for projects and help with scaling.

Californians that have IOU gas providers but Publicly Owned Utility (POU) electricity provid - ers will be allowed to make decarbonization upgrades in line with the state’s goals. New regulations also al - low for different types of financial assistance beyond loss reserves and other types of customers to be eligi - ble for the program.

Section 10092.17. Interest Rate Buy Down (IRBD) Disbursement. This

section allows additional means of incentiviz - ing customers to engage in energy upgrades to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. This

section describes the administration of an in - terest rate buy–down if CAEATFA secures an exter - nal source of funding, lays out the processes by which participating lenders will be informed of the require - ments of any funders as well as the process to partic - ipate in the funding. It establishes the term sheet that will be available for participating lenders. CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES In accordance with Government Code

Section 11346.5(a) (13), the Authority must determine that no reasonable alternative considered by the agency or that has otherwise been identified and brought to the attention of the agency would be more effective in car- rying out the purpose for which the action is proposed, would be as effective and less burdensome to affect - ed private persons than the proposed action, or would be more cost–effective to affected private persons and equally effective in implementing the statutory policy or other provision of law.

The Authority invites interested persons to present statements with respect to alternatives to the regula - tions during the written comment period. AGENCY CONTACT PERSON Written comments shall be submitted or directed to: cheef@treasurer.ca.gov.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1586 Inquiries and any questions regarding the substance of the regulations shall be submitted or directed to: Kevin Nakano Program Analyst CAEATFA 901 P Street Sacramento, California 95814 Telephone: 916–653–0015 Email: knakano@treasurer.ca.gov or (backup contact): Jonathan Verhoef Program Specialist CAEATFA 901 P Street Sacramento, California 95814 Telephone: 916–653–1375 Email: jverhoef@treasurer.ca.gov AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL STATEMENT OF REASONS AND TEXT OF THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS The Authority has established a rulemaking file for this regulatory action, which contains those items re - quired by law.

The file is available for inspection at the Authority’s office at 901 P Street, Sacramento, Califor- nia 95814, during normal business working hours. As of the date this Notice is published in the Notice Reg - ister, the rulemaking file consists of this Notice, the Initial Statement of Reasons, the proposed text of the regulations, the Economic Impact Statement, and the Technical, Theoretical, and/or Empirical Studies, Re - ports, or Documents.

Copies of these items are avail - able upon request from the Agency Contact Person designated in this Notice or at the Authority’s website located at https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/caeatfa/cheef/ sblp/regulations/index.asp/. AVAILABILITY OF CHANGED OR MODIFIED TEXT After the public hearing and at the end of the written comment period, the Authority may adopt the regula - tions substantially as described in this Notice, without further notice.

If the Authority makes modifications that are sufficiently related to the originally proposed text, it will make the modified text (with the changes clearly indicated) available to the public for at least fif- teen (15) calendar days before the Authority adopts the proposed regulations, as modified. Inquiries about and request for copies of any changed or modified regula - tions should be addressed to the Agency Contact Per - son identified in this Notice. The Authority will accept written comments on the modified regulations for fif - teen (15) calendar days after the date on which they are made available.

AVAILABILITY OF FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS Upon completion, a copy of the Final State - ment of Reasons may be requested from the Agency Contact Person designated in this No - tice or at the Authority’s website located at https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/caeatfa/cheef/sblp/ regulations/index.asp/.

AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS ON THE INTERNET Materials prepared for this rulemaking, includ - ing this Notice, the Initial Statement of Reasons, the text of the proposed regulations, the Econom - ic Impact Analysis, and Technical, Theoretical, and/ or Empirical Studies, Reports, or Documents may be accessed on the Authority’s website located at https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/caeatfa/cheef/sblp/ regulations/index.asp. TITLE 5.

STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AMENDMENT REGARDING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SUFFICIENCY NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the State Su - perintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) proposes to adopt the regulations described below after consider - ing all comments, objections, or recommendations re- garding the proposed action. The SSPI invites interested persons to present state- ments or arguments with respect to alternatives to the proposed regulations at the scheduled hearing or during the written comment period.

PUBLIC HEARING California Department of Education (CDE) staff, on behalf of the SSPI, will hold a virtual public hearing at 9:00 a.m. on January 21, 2025. Any interested person may participate in the public hearing via a meeting in Zoom by logging in per the following instructions: ● Click the following link or paste the link to the browser to join the meeting and enter the passcode:

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1587 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86446802621 Passcode: 443949 ● To connect with audio only and no video, call one of the following telephone numbers and enter the meeting ID and passcode: ■ 669–900–6833 ■ 213–338–8477 ■ Meeting ID: 864 4680 2621 ■ Passcode: 443949 Persons intending to attend the Zoom meeting may check their computers by: ● Clicking on the test link: https://zoom.us/test. ● For any issues regarding connecting with Zoom, go to https://support.zoom.us/hc/en–us for assistance.

At the hearing, any person may present statements or arguments, orally or in writing, relevant to the pro - posed action described in the Informative Digest. The SSPI requests, but does not require, that persons who make oral comments at the public hearing also sub - mit a written

summary of their statements. No oral statements will be accepted subsequent to this public hearing. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY Pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, any individu- al with a disability who requires reasonable accommo- dation to attend or participate in a public hearing on proposed regulations, may request assistance by con - tacting David Almquist, Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Materials Division, 1430 N Street, Sac - ramento, CA, 95814 or email dalmquis@cde.ca.gov.

The CDE recommends that individuals request assis - tance at least two weeks prior to the hearing. WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD Any interested person, or their authorized represen- tative, may submit written comments relevant to the proposed regulatory action to: Lorie Adame, Regulations Coordinator Administrative Support and Regulations Adoption Unit California Department of Education 1430 N Street, Room 5319 Sacramento, CA 95814 Comments may also be submitted by fac - simile (FAX) at 916–322–2549 or by email to regcomments@cde.ca.gov.

Comments must be received by the Regulations Co- ordinator prior to or on January 21, 2025. All writ - ten comments received by CDE staff during the pub - lic comment period are subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act. AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE Authority:

Section 33315, California Education Code References:

Section 35186, California Education Code INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW This regulations development package proposes to create

section 4685.5 within Division 1 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations (5 CCR) to facil - itate implementation of California Education Code (EC)

Section 35186(

d) which became effective Sep - tember 25, 2023, as chaptered by Assembly Bill 1078, statutes of 2023. EC

section 35186 stipulates that school districts shall use the uniform complaint process to help iden - tify and resolve any deficiencies related to instruction- al materials, emergency or urgent facilities conditions, and teacher vacancy or misassignment. This statute directs complainants in their filing; the district in its investigation; the complainant in appeal; district pol - icy and procedures development; district posting no - tifications regarding the right to file complaints; and district reporting. EC

section 35186(d), newly added by the State Leg- islature and Governor, provides complainants with the additional right to file a complaint regarding instruc - tional materials insufficiency, as defined in EC sec - tion 60119, directly with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI). That

section provides that the Superintendent “may” decide to directly intervene without waiting for a local investigation; that the com- plainant shall identify the basis for filing directly with the Superintendent; and that the complainant shall present the Superintendent with evidence that sup - ports the basis for the direct filing. Proposed 5 CCR

section 4685.5 will specify the procedural requirements to implement the complaint process authorized by EC

section 35186(d). POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW These proposed regulations will facilitate the re - quirements of a new statute, EC

section 35186(d), that provides complainants with the opportunity to file complaints regarding instructional materials insuf - ficiency directly with the SSPI. The regulations will provide helpful clarification and specification as to the required contents of such complaints, and the required

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1588 actions of the CDE upon the SSPI accepting a com - plaint for direct intervention, and upon declining a complaint for direct intervention, respectively. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED REGULATION The proposed regulations may benefit the students and stakeholders in the State of California’s educa - tion system by facilitating implementation of existing EC

section 35186 permitting the filing of instruction - al materials sufficiency complaints directly with the SSPI for consideration of investigation and remedy. EVALUATION OF INCONSISTENCY/ INCOMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING STATE REGULATIONS An evaluation of the proposed regulations has de - termined they are not inconsistent/incompatible with existing regulations, pursuant to Government Code

section 11346.5(a) (3) (D). After conducting a review of any regulations that would relate to or affect this area of law, the SSPI has concluded that these are the only regulations that concern the proposed regulations for instructional materials sufficiency. DISCLOSURES REGARDING THE PROPOSED ACTION/FISCAL IMPACT The SSPI has made the following initial determinations: Other statutory requirements: There are no other matters as are prescribed by statute applicable to the specific state agency or to any specific regulations or class of regulations. Mandate on local agencies and school districts: None.

Costs to any local agencies or school districts for which reimbursement would be required pursuant to

Part 7 (commencing with

section 17500) of divi - sion 4 of the Government Code: None. Cost or savings to any state agency: None. Other non–discretionary costs or savings im - posed on local agencies, including local educational agencies: None. Costs or savings in federal funding to the state: None. Effect on housing costs: None. Significant, statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting business including the ability of California businesses to compete with businesses in other states: None.

Cost impacts on a representative private person or business: The SSPI is not aware of any cost impacts that a representative private person or business would necessarily incur in reasonable compliance with the proposed action. Report required: The proposed regulations do not require a report to be made. Effect on small businesses: The proposed reg - ulations will not affect any small business because they address a complaint process regarding local in - sufficient implementation of instructional materials programs.

RESULTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT Benefits of the Regulations to the Health and Welfare of California Residents, Worker Safety, and the State’s Environment — Gov. Code

Section 11346.5(a) (10): The SSPI concludes that it is unlikely that these proposed regulations will: 1) create or eliminate jobs within California; 2) create new businesses or elimi - nate existing businesses within California; or 3) affect the expansion of businesses currently doing business within California. Benefits of the Proposed Action: The proposed reg- ulations may benefit the health and welfare of Califor- nia residents as the proposed regulations will facili - tate implementation of existing EC

section 35186 per- mitting the filing of instructional materials sufficiency complaints directly with the SSPI for consideration of investigation and remedy. CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES In accordance with Government Code

section 11346.5(a) (13), the SSPI must determine that no rea - sonable alternative it considered or that has other - wise been identified and brought to the attention of the SSPI, would be more effective in carrying out the purpose for which the action is proposed, would be as effective and less burdensome to affected private per - sons than the proposed action, or would be more cost– effective to affected private persons and equally effec- tive in implementing the statutory policy or other pro- vision of law.

The SSPI invites interested persons to present state- ments or arguments with respect to alternatives to the proposed regulations during the written comment period. CONTACT PERSONS Inquiries concerning the content of these proposed regulations should be directed to:

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1589 David Almquist, Education Programs Consultant Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division California Department of Education 1430 N Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Email: dalmquis@cde.ca.gov Inquiries concerning the regulatory process may be directed to Lorie Adame, Regulations Coordinator, or the backup contact person, Gerri White, Analyst. The Regulations Coordinator and the Analyst may be reached by email at regulations@cde.ca.gov or by telephone at 916–319–0860.

AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL STATEMENT OF REASONS, TEXT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS AND INFORMATION As of the date this notice is published in the Notice Register, the rulemaking file consists of this Notice, the proposed text of the regulations, the Initial State - ment of Reasons (ISOR) and Fiscal and Economic Im- pact Statement (STD. 399). These documents upon which the proposed action is based may be obtained upon request from the Regulations Coordinator. In ad- dition, this Notice, the text of the proposed regulations and the ISOR may also be viewed on CDE’s website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lr/rr/.

AVAILABILITY OF CHANGED OR MODIFIED TEXT Following the public hearing and considering all timely and relevant comments received, the SSPI may adopt the proposed regulations substantially as de - scribed in this Notice or may modify the proposed regulations if the modifications are sufficiently relat - ed to the original text.

With the exception of techni - cal or grammatical changes, the full text of any mod - ified regulation will be available to the public for at least 15 days prior to its adoption from the Regula - tions Coordinator and will be mailed to those persons who submit written comments related to this regula - tion, or who provide oral testimony at the public hear- ing, or who have requested notification of any chang - es to the proposed regulations. The CDE will accept written comments on the modified regulations for 15 days after the date on which they are made available.

AVAILABILITY AND LOCATION OF THE FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS AND RULEMAKING FILE You may obtain a copy of the Final Statement of Reasons, once it has been finalized, by making a writ- ten request to the Regulations Coordinator. All the information upon which the proposed reg - ulations are based is contained in the rulemaking file which is available for public inspection by contacting the Regulations Coordinator.

AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS ON THE INTERNET Copies of the Notice of Proposed Action, the Ini - tial Statement of Reasons, and the text of the regula - tions with modifications highlighted, as well as the Fi- nal Statement of Reasons, when completed, and mod- ified text, if any, can be accessed via CDE’s website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lr/rr/. TITLE 9. DEPARTMENT OF STATE HOSPITALS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Depart- ment of State Hospitals, pursuant to the authority vested in it by

section 87306 of the Government Code, proposes amendment to its Conflict–of–Interest Code. A comment period has been established commencing on December 6, 2024 and closing on January 21, 2025. All inquiries should be directed to the contact listed below. The Department of State Hospitals proposes to amend its Conflict–of–Interest Code to include em - ployee positions that involve the making, or participa- tion in the making, of decisions that may foreseeably have a material effect on any financial interest, as set forth in subdivision (

a) of

section 87302 of the Gov - ernment Code. The amendment carries out the pur - poses of the law and no other alternative would do so and be less burdensome to affected persons. Changes to the Conflict–of–Interest Code include: removal of the Consulting Psychologist and Sexual - ly Violent Predator Evaluator classifications, update of the division name from Hospital Strategic Plan - ning and Implementation, to Patient Care Coordina - tion, and adding standard language for Consultant/ new position. Information on the code amendment is available on the agency’s intranet site and/or attached to this email.

Any interested person may submit written com - ments relating to the proposed amendment by submit- ting them no later than January 21, 2025, or at the con- clusion of the public hearing, if requested, whichever comes later. At this time, no public hearing is sched - uled. A person may request a hearing no later than January 6, 2025. The Department of State Hospitals has deter - mined that the proposed amendment: 1. Imposes no mandate on local agencies or school districts. 2. Imposes no costs or savings on any state agency.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1590 3. Imposes no costs on any local agency or school district that are required to be reimbursed under

Part 7 (commencing with

Section 17500) of Divi- sion 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. 4. Will not result in any nondiscretionary costs or savings to local agencies. 5. Will not result in any costs or savings in federal funding to the state. 6. Will not have any potential cost impact on private persons, businesses, or small businesses. All inquiries concerning this proposed amendment and any communication required by this notice should be directed to: Anna Libonati, Chief, (916) 654–2478, dsh.regulations@dsh.ca.gov. TITLE 13. NEW MOTOR VEHICLE BOARD As required by

section 11346.4 of the Government Code, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Cali - fornia New Motor Vehicle Board (“Board”), pursuant to the authority vested in the Board by subdivision (

a) of Vehicle Code

section 3050 proposes to amend Cali- fornia Code of Regulations, Title 13,

section 550, sub- division (a), pertaining to the definition of an Admin - istrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). PROPOSED REGULATORY ACTION The Board proposes to amend

Section 550, subdi - vision (

a) of Title 13 of the California Code of Regu - lations to amend the definition of an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”), so for purposes of Vehicle Code sections 3067(b), 3081(b), and 3085.4(

b) it means an ALJ of the Board and not the Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”). PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS PRIOR TO NOTICE Prior to the publication of this notice, the Board con- sidered the proposed amendment to the regulation at a noticed General Meeting held on April 25, 2024. Ap - proximately fifteen days prior to the meeting, a de - tailed agenda including the consideration of the pro - posed text of the regulation was mailed to all individ - uals and entities on the Board’s Public Mailing list and Electronic Public Mailing list. The agenda was also posted on the Board’s website.

The public was invited to comment at the General Meeting in relation to the proposed changes to the reg- ulation in this notice. No comments by the public were received at the April 25, 2024, General Meeting, and no further public discussion was held prior to publica- tion of the notice. PUBLIC HEARING The Board has not scheduled a public hearing on this proposed action.

However, the Board will hold a hear- ing if it receives a written request for a public hearing from any interested person, or their authorized repre - sentative, no later than 15 days before the close of the written comment period indicated below. The request should be submitted to the Board staff member named below. WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD Any interested person, or their authorized represen- tative, may submit written comments relevant to the proposed regulatory action to the Board by email at jason.rose@nmvb.ca.gov or nmvb@nmvb.ca.gov. The written comment period closes at 5:00 p.m. on Janu - ary 21, 2025.

The Board will consider only comments received at the Board’s offices by that time. Written comments can be mailed to: Jason A. Rose, Senior Staff Counsel California New Motor Vehicle Board 2415 1st Avenue, MS L242 Sacramento, CA 95818 Main line (916) 445–1888 Direct line (916) 505–2114 AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE Vehicle Code

section 3050, subdivision (a), autho - rizes the Board to amend the proposed regulation. The amended regulation implements and interprets a pro - vision in the California Code of Regulations, Title 13, Motor Vehicles, Division 1, Department of Motor Ve- hicles,

Chapter 2, New Motor Vehicle Board,

section 550, subdivision (a).

INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW The adopted mission of the Board is to “enhance re- lations between dealers and manufacturers through - out the State by resolving disputes in the new motor vehicle industry in an efficient, fair and cost–effective manner.” The adopted vision statement provides that the Board “demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and accountability in securing fair resolutions to mo - tor vehicle industry disputes.” The Board proposes to amend its regulation to clari- fy the definition of an ALJ for the purposes of Vehicle Code sections 3067(b), 3081(b), and 3085.4(b), means an ALJ of the Board and not the Office of Administra- tive Hearings.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1591

Summary of Existing Laws and Regulations

Section 550(

a) defines an “Administrative law judge” or “ALJ” as an administrative law judge of the board or Office of Administrative Hearings. The Board’s procedures are governed by the Vehi - cle Code [sections 3000–3085.10], the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) [Gov’t. Code sections 11400, et seq.], and California Code of Regulations (CCR) sections 500–598], but also by various sections of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) applicable to the Board’s administrative hearings. (Veh. Code § 3050.1; 13 CCR §§ 550, 551.2, 551.21, 551.24, 551.25, 584, and 595).

As noted above, the APA applies to the Board and its administrative proceedings in part based on the Board’s statutory and regulatory scheme. Under Gov- ernment Code

section 11517(c), an agency has 30 days after the receipt of the proposed decision to file it as a public record and serve a copy by the agency on each party and their attorneys. Under Vehicle Code sections 3067(b), 3081(b), and 3085.4(b), the Board only has 10 days after receipt of the ALJ’s Proposed Decision to file it as a public re - cord and serve each party and their counsel. Addi - tionally, this 10–day review period is included in the 30–day statutory period the Board must consider the proposed decision at a noticed meeting. (Veh.

Code §§ 3067(a), 3081(a), and 3085.4) Effect of Proposed Rulemaking The proposed action will amend the definition of ALJ, which will provide the Board with 30 days, in - stead of 10 days, to review any proposed decisions is- sued by the OAH before filing it as a public record and serving a copy on each party and their attorneys. This time will allow the Board’s legal staff to review the OAH proposed decision for consistency and accu- racy and to properly advise its Board members when they consider whether to adopt, reject or make techni- cal or other changes to the proposed decision.

Broad Objectives and Specific Benefits of the Proposed Rulemaking The proposed action will benefit the public, practi - tioners before the Board, and the State of California by ensuring the proposed decisions are consistent and accurate (factually and legally). In addition, this will help ensure the Board’s legal staff has sufficient time to review a proposed decision from OAH and advise its Board before it considers the decision at a public meeting.

The specific benefit anticipated from the regulations is promoting the expeditious and economical resolu - tion of statutorily enumerated disputes between new motor vehicle dealers (franchisees) and their manufac- turers or distributors (franchisors). The Board keeps these types of cases from further clogging our already congested courts. It provides a uniformity of decisions across the state, allowing franchisors and their dealers to conduct their business in compliance with Califor - nia law.

Consistency and Compatibility with Existing State Regulations The Board evaluated the proposed amendment for potential inconsistency or incompatibility with exist - ing state regulations pursuant to Government Code

section 11346.5, subdivision (a) (3) (D), conducted a search of any similar state regulations, and has con - cluded that this regulation is neither inconsistent nor incompatible with any existing state regulations.

DISCLOSURES REGARDING THE PROPOSED REGULATORY ACTION The Board has made the following initial determinations: ■ Mandate on local agencies and school districts: None. ■ Cost or savings to any state agency: None. ■ Cost to any local agency or school district which must be reimbursed in accordance with Government Code sections 17500 through 17630: None. ■ Other nondiscretionary cost or savings imposed on local agencies: None. ■ Cost or savings in federal funding to the state: None. ■ Cost impacts on a directly affected private person or business: None.

The Board is not aware of any cost impacts that a representative private person or business would necessarily incur in reasonable compliance with the proposed action. ■ Significant, statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting businesses, including the ability of California business to compete with businesses in other states: None. ■ Significant effect on housing costs: None. ■ Effect of small business: None. The proposed regulatory amendments have no as - sociated costs.

The Board’s case management proce - dures concern franchised new motor vehicle dealers and their franchisors (new motor vehicle manufactur - ers or distributors) who choose to file a protest or peti- tion with the Board. RESULTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT In accordance with Government Code

section 11346.3, subdivision (b), the Board has made the fol - lowing assessments regarding the proposed regulation

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1592 action: The proposed amendment will not create any jobs within the State of California, eliminate any jobs within the State of California, create any new busi - nesses within the State of California, eliminate any ex- isting businesses within the State of California, cause the expansion of businesses currently doing business within the State of California. The proposed amendment will benefit the public, practitioners, and the State of California by ensuring that proposed decisions are consistent and legally ac - curate.

It will also give the Board adequate time to re- view these decisions from the Office of Administra - tive Hearings (OAH) before public meetings, where they decide to adopt, reject, or modify them. The Board addresses disputes between motor ve - hicle dealers (franchisees) and their manufacturers or distributors (franchisors), helping to reduce congestion in the courts. This amendment will enable the Board to continue issuing uniform decisions across Califor - nia, ensuring compliance with state law for franchi - sors and dealers.

The proposed regulation will not impact the health and welfare of California residents, and worker safe - ty because they do not regulate worker safety stan - dards and will also not benefit the environment be - cause it does not change any applicable environmental standards. CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES In accordance with Government Code

section 11346.5, subdivision (a) (13), the Board must determine that no reasonable alternative it considered or that has otherwise been identified and brought to the attention of the Board would be more effective in carrying out the purpose for which the action is proposed, would be as effective and less burdensome to affected private persons than the proposed regulatory action, or would be more cost–effective to affected private persons and equally effective in implementing the statutory policy or other provision of law.

The Board invites interested persons to present comments, statements, or arguments with respect to alternatives to the proposed regulation, during the written comment period or at the public hearing, if one is requested. CONTACT PERSONS Inquiries concerning the proposed regulatory action may be directed to: Jason A. Rose, Senior Staff Counsel New Motor Vehicle Board 2415 1st Avenue, MS L242 Sacramento, CA 95818 (916) 505–2114 direct line (916) 445–1888 main line jason.rose@nmvb.ca.gov The backup contact person for these inquiries is: Robin P.

Parker, Chief Counsel New Motor Vehicle Board 2415 1st Avenue, MS L242 Sacramento, CA 95818 (916) 323–1536 direct line (916) 445–1888 main line robin.parker@nmvb.ca.gov Please direct requests for copies of the proposed text (the “express terms”) of the regulation, the initial statement of reasons, modified text of the regulation, if any, or other information upon which the rulemak - ing is based to Jason A. Rose at the above address or send the request by email to jason.rose@nmvb.ca.gov.

AVAILABILITY OF STATEMENT OF REASONS, TEXT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS, AND RULEMAKING FILE The Board will have the entire rulemaking file available for inspection and copying throughout the rulemaking process at its offices at the above address. To make an appointment, please reach out to the Con- tact Person listed above. As of the date this notice is published in the Notice Register, the rulemaking file consists of this notice, the proposed text of the regu - lations, the initial statement of reasons, the Econom - ic and Fiscal Impact Statement, and all the informa - tion upon which the proposal is based.

Copies may be obtained by contacting the contact persons identified above. AVAILABILITY OF CHANGED OR MODIFIED TEXT After considering all timely and relevant comments received, the Board may adopt the proposed regula - tion substantially as described in this notice. If the Board makes modifications which are sufficiently re - lated to the originally proposed text, it will make the modified text (with the changes clearly indicated) available to the public for at least 15 days before the Board adopts the regulation as revised.

Requests for copies of any modified regulation should be addressed to the Board contact person or back–up contact person at the addresses indicated above. The Board will ac - cept written comments on the modified regulation for

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1593 15 days after the date on which it is made available to the public. AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS Upon completion of the Final Statement of Reasons, copies thereof may be obtained by contacting Mr. Rose or Ms. Parker at the above address, phone num - ber, or email address. Copies of the Final Statement of Reasons will also be published on the Board’s website.

AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS ON THE INTERNET Copies of the Notice of Proposed Action, the Initial Statement of Reasons, and the text of the regulation in underline or strikeout font can be accessed through the Board’s website at www.nmvb.ca.gov. TITLE 13. NEW MOTOR VEHICLE BOARD As required by

section 11346.4 of the Government Code, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Cali - fornia New Motor Vehicle Board (“Board”), pursuant to the authority vested in the Board by subdivision (

a) of Vehicle Code

section 3050 proposes to amend the regulations as described below, after considering all comments, objections, and recommendations regard - ing the proposed regulatory action. PROPOSED REGULATORY ACTION The Board proposes to amend Sections 551.14 and 555 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations to delete the terms “residence” and “business” preced- ing “address.” The Board proposes to amend

Section 595 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations to delete the term “office” preceding “address.” The references to facsimile filing of papers is being deleted as papers and filings are submitted to the Board via electronic– mail, regular mail, or overnight delivery. PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS PRIOR TO NOTICE Prior to the publication of this notice, the Board considered the proposed regulatory amendments at noticed General Meetings held on April 28, 2023 and September 21, 2023.

Approximately 15 days prior to each meeting, a detailed agenda including the con - sideration of the proposed text of the regulations was mailed to all individuals and entities on the Board’s Public Mailing list and Electronic Public Mailing list. The agendas and memos were also posted on the Board’s website. The public was invited to comment at each Gener - al Meeting in relation to the proposed changes to the regulations in this notice.

No comments by the public were received at the April 28, 2023 or September 21, 2023, General Meetings and no further public discus - sion was held prior to publication of the notice. PUBLIC HEARING The Board has not scheduled a public hearing on this proposed action. However, the Board will hold a hearing if it receives a written request for a public hearing from any interested person, or their autho - rized representative, no later than 15 days before the close of the written comment period indicated below. The request should be submitted to the Contact Person named below.

WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD Any interested person, or their authorized represen- tative, may submit written comments relevant to the proposed regulatory action to the Board by email at jason.rose@nmvb.ca.gov or nmvb@nmvb.ca.gov. The written comment period closes at 5:00 p.m. on Janu - ary 21, 2025. The Board will only consider comments received at the Board’s offices by that time. Written comments can be mailed to: Jason A.

Rose, Senior Staff Counsel California New Motor Vehicle Board 2415 1st Avenue, MS L242 Sacramento, CA 95818 Main line: (916) 445–1888 Direct line: (916) 505–2114 AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE Vehicle Code

section 3050, subdivision (a), autho - rizes the Board to amend the proposed regulations. The amended regulations implement and interpret provisions in the California Code of Regulations, Title 13, Motor Vehicles, Division 1, Department of Motor Vehicles,

Chapter 2, New Motor Vehicle Board, sec - tions 551.14, 555, and 595. INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW The adopted mission of the Board is to “enhance re- lations between dealers and manufacturers through - out the State by resolving disputes in the new motor vehicle industry in an efficient, fair and cost–effective manner.” The adopted vision statement provides that the Board “demonstrate professionalism, integrity,

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1594 and accountability in securing fair resolutions to mo - tor vehicle industry disputes.” The Board proposes to amend its regulations to de - lete obsolete requirements of parties and their counsel when filing protests and petitions.

Summary of Existing Laws and Regulations

Section 551.14 allows the parties to request volun - tary informal mediation before filing a petition. A re - quest for informal mediation includes, in part, the re - lief or disposition sought and the parties’ contact in - formation. Additionally, if known, the names, resi - dence addresses and business addresses of persons and the dates, places and specific actions or practices involved in the matter.

Section 555 describes the contents of a petition. A petition includes, in part, the relief sought and the par- ties’ contact information. Additionally, the names, res- idence addresses and business addresses of persons and the dates, places and specific actions or practices involved in the matter.

Section 595 describes the format of the first page and the format and filing of papers. Specific informa - tion is required to be included in the first page of all papers, including contact information (name of the at- torney or agent presenting the paper or the party if ap- pearing in person, office or if none the residence ad - dress, mailing address (if different from the office or residence address), electronic–mail address, telephone number, and facsimile number).

Section 595 also al - lows papers to be filed with the Board by facsimile or electronic–mail transmission and provides that pa - pers filed within regular business hours by facsimile or electronic–mail transmission are filed on the date received. Effect of Proposed Rulemaking The terms “residence,” “business,” and “office” pre- ceding “address” in the regulations are extraneous. Using “addresses” without a modifier allows the party to determine the appropriate address.

Requiring the parties to include their facsimile num- ber on papers is outdated as papers and filings are sub- mitted to the Board via electronic–mail, regular mail, or overnight delivery. Removing references to “fac - simile” ensures that the Board does not maintain reg - ulations that are outdated or inconsistent with current practices. Furthermore, allowing filings via facsimile is no longer feasible.

Broad Objectives and Specific Benefits of the Proposed Rulemaking The broad objective of the proposed amendments to the regulations is to clarify for litigants that appear be- fore the Board the information necessary to effectively represent themselves or their clients. The specific benefit anticipated from the regulations is promoting the expeditious and economical resolu - tion of statutorily enumerated disputes between new motor vehicle dealers (franchisees) and their manufac- turers or distributors (franchisors). The Board keeps these types of cases from further clogging our already congested courts.

It provides a uniformity of decisions across the state, allowing franchisors and their dealers to conduct their business in compliance with Califor - nia law. Consistency and Compatibility with Existing State Regulations The Board evaluated the proposed amendments for potential inconsistency or incompatibility with exist - ing state regulations pursuant to Government Code

section 11346.5, subdivision (a) (3) (D), conducted a search of any similar state regulations, and has con - cluded that the proposed regulatory amendments are neither inconsistent nor incompatible with any exist - ing state regulations.

DISCLOSURES REGARDING THE PROPOSED ACTION The Board has made the following initial determinations: ■ Mandate on local agencies and school districts: None. ■ Cost or savings to any state agency: None. ■ Cost to any local agency or school district which must be reimbursed in accordance with Government Code sections 17500 through 17630: None. ■ Other nondiscretionary cost or savings imposed on local agencies: None. ■ Cost or savings in federal funding to the state: None. ■ Cost impacts on a directly affected private person or business: None.

The proposed regulatory amendments have no as - sociated costs; they clarify case management proce - dures for franchised new motor vehicle dealers and their franchisors (new motor vehicle manufacturers or distributors) who choose to file a protest or petition with the Board.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1595 RESULTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT In accordance with Government Code

section 11346.3, subdivision (b), the Board has made the fol - lowing assessments regarding the proposed regula - tion action: The proposed amendments will not cre - ate any jobs within the State of California, eliminate any jobs within the State of California, create any new businesses within the State of California, eliminate any existing businesses within the State of Califor - nia, cause the expansion of businesses currently doing business within the State of California.

The proposed regulatory amendments benefit the public, practitioners appearing before the Board, and the State of California by eliminating the requirement to provide information that is unnecessary. The pro - posed amendments improve readability and ensure the regulations do not contain extraneous language that is outdated. The proposed regulatory amendment re - moving the requirement to provide a facsimile num - ber on papers is consistent with the mode in which papers are filed. Filing papers by facsimile is outdat - ed as the majority of filings are via electronic–mail or other means.

section 11346.5, subdivision (a) (13), the Board must deter - mine that no reasonable alternative it considered or that has otherwise been identified and brought to the attention of the Board would be more effective in car- rying out the purpose for which the action is proposed, would be as effective and less burdensome to affect - ed private persons than the proposed action, or would be more cost–effective to affected private persons and equally effective in implementing the statutory policy or other provision of law.

The Board invites interested persons to present comments, statements, or arguments with respect to alternatives to the proposed regulation, during the written comment period or at the public hearing, if one is requested. CONTACT PERSONS Inquiries concerning the proposed regulatory action may be directed to: Jason A. Rose, Senior Staff Counsel New Motor Vehicle Board 2415 1st Avenue, MS L242 Sacramento, CA 95818 Main line: (916) 445–1888 Direct line: (916) 505–2114 jason.rose@nmvb.ca.gov The backup contact person for these inquiries is: Robin P.

Parker, Chief Counsel New Motor Vehicle Board 2415 1st Avenue, MS L242 Sacramento, CA 95818 Main line: (916) 445–1888 Direct line: (916) 244–6776 robin.parker@nmvb.ca.gov Please direct requests for copies of the proposed text (the “express terms”) of the regulation, the initial statement of reasons, modified text of the regulation, if any, or other information upon which the rulemak - ing is based to Jason A. Rose at the above address or send the request by email to jason.rose@nmvb.ca.gov.

As of the date this notice is published in the California Regulatory Notice Regis - ter, the rulemaking file consists of this notice, the pro- posed text of the regulations, the initial statement of reasons, the Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement, and all the information upon which the proposal is based. Copies may be obtained by contacting the Con- tact Person identified above. AVAILABILITY OF CHANGED OR MODIFIED TEXT After considering all timely and relevant comments received, the Board may adopt the proposed regula - tion substantially as described in this notice.

If the Board makes modifications which are sufficiently re - lated to the originally proposed text, it will make the modified text (with the changes clearly indicated) available to the public for at least 15 days before the Board adopts the regulation as revised. Requests for copies of any modified regulation should be addressed to the Board contact person or back–up contact person at the addresses indicated above. The Board will ac - cept written comments on the modified regulation for

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1596 15 days after the date on which it is made available to the public. AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS Upon completion of the Final Statement of Reasons, copies thereof may be obtained by contacting Mr. Rose or Ms. Parker at the above address, phone num - ber, or email address. Copies of the Final Statement of Reasons will also be published on the Board’s website.

CHAPTER 10,

ARTICLE 2 AND 3 AMEND SECTIONS 1640 AND 1640.3 ADD SECTIONS 1623 AND 1640.4 NATURE OF PROCEEDING Notice is hereby given that the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) is pro - posing to take the action described in the Informative Digest. WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD Any person, or authorized representative, may sub - mit written comments relevant to the proposed regula- tory action to the Board. The written comment period ends on January 20, 2025.

The Board will consider only written comments re - ceived at the Board office by that time and those writ- ten comments received at the public hearing, includ - ing written comments submitted in connection with oral testimony at the public hearing. The Board re - quests, but does not require, that persons who submit written comments to the Board reference the title of the rulemaking proposal in their comments to facili - tate review. Written comments shall be submitted to the follow- ing address: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Attention: Andrew Lawhorn Forestry Assistant II P.O.

Box 944246 Sacramento, CA 94244–2460 Written comments can also be hand delivered to the contact person listed in this notice at the follow - ing address: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Written comments may also be delivered via email at the following address: PublicComments@BOF.ca.gov AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (2) and 1 CCR § 14) Authority cited: Sections 750, 752, 753, 754, 759, 763, 765, and 769, Public Resources Code.

INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW (pursuant to GOV 11346.5(a) (3) (A)–(D)) Pursuant to the Z’berg–Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973, PRC § 4511, et seq. (FPA) the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) is authorized to construct a system of forest practice regulations ap - plicable to timber management on state and private timberlands.

PRC § 4551 requires the Board to “…adopt district forest practice rules… to ensure the continuous grow- ing and harvesting of commercial forest tree species and to protect the soil, air, fish, wildlife, and water re- sources…” of the state and PRC § 4553 requires the Board to continuously review the rules in consultation with other interests and make appropriate revisions. The proposed action aims to adopt new regulations to address the critical need for more Registered Pro - fessional Foresters (RPFs) and Certified Rangeland Managers (CRMs) in the state.

The proposed action responds to findings by the Office of Foresters Reg - istration that the Professional Forester Fund (Fund 0300) is insufficient to support the examination and li- censing processes required to meet the increasing de - mand for these professionals. In recent years, California has experienced some of the most devastating wildland fires in its histo - ry. To mitigate these risks, the state has significant - ly increased funding for forest fuel treatment projects, mandating supervision by RPFs. However, the current

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1597 demographic trends show an aging workforce, with 40% of RPFs practicing for over 30 years and 27% al- ready retired. This has led to a consistent attrition rate that outpaces new licensing by approximately 1% an - nually until 2021. Despite outreach efforts stabilizing the numbers, only 830 RPFs are actively practicing, highlighting the urgent need to expedite the licensing process to manage 16 million acres of state and private timberland effectively. The Board proposes to insert new sections 14 Califor- nia Code of Regulations (CCR) § 1623 and 1640.4 and amend existing

section 14 CCR § 1640.3(a) (b) (1) (2). These changes will create a pathway for an additional examination as provided for under PRC § 769(c). This initiative aims to address the fund’s reduced condi - tion, the increasing demand for forestry professionals, and the need for a younger, well–trained workforce to support California’s forest management goals.

Under PRC § 759, the Board is authorized to regis - ter applicants as RPFs based on good character, seven years of relevant experience or a combination of ed - ucation and experience (with three years’ supervised by an RPF), and passing the RPF examination with a score of 75 or higher. Recent examination success rates had declined to 37% between 2017 and 2021, at- tributed to declining forestry school enrollments and a shift away from core forestry applications in col - lege curricula.

A trial program by the California Li - censed Forester Association (CLFA) in 2021 showed improved exam pass rates, demonstrating the effec - tiveness of targeted educational interventions. The proposed regulations aim to formalize this ap - proach, ensuring that aspiring foresters receive the necessary education and training to meet licensure re- quirements, thereby supporting the state’s efforts to manage its forests sustainably and reduce the risk of wildland fires.

The problem addressed by this rulemaking is the limited understanding of core forestry concepts among many applicants for the Registered Profession- al Forester (RPF) exam, as listed in §1640.3. Despite the rigorous requirements, applicants often lack suffi - cient knowledge in essential areas such as forest man- agement, silviculture, and forest operations.

This gap in understanding results in lower pass rates and an in - sufficient number of qualified professionals to meet the increasing demand for forestry expertise, exac - erbated by recent mandates to accelerate forest fuel treatment projects across California. Additionally, the current language in the regulations does not specify which examination the applicant will take, creating confusion and inconsistency in the ad - ministration of the RPF exam.

There is also no regu - latory description detailing how to prepare the abbre - viated exam, leading to variability in exam prepara - tion and a lack of standardization. Furthermore, the absence of clear administrative requirements for inde- pendent education programs overseeing the Appren - tice Professional Forester programs and exams results in inconsistent training quality and oversight. This rulemaking aims to address these issues by providing clarity and structure to the examination and training processes, ensuring a higher standard of forestry edu - cation and professional competency.

The purpose of the proposed action is to create an alternative licensing pathway titled the Apprentice Professional Forester (APF) educational program. Mirrored after the existing specialty program (14 CCR 1651, PRC 772), any public agency or professional so- ciety could submit to the Board their proposal to edu - cate forestry licensing applicants and provide require- ments for evaluation and/or testing of core competen - cy subject matter in forestry. Proposals for education programs would be reviewed by the Board.

RPF li - censing applicants will be mentored, educated, and evaluated for their understanding of significant core competency subject matter that enables these licens - ing applicants to take their first step towards licensing earlier in the RPF licensing process, at year four of the seven required to qualify for the license. Applicants could join the program having achieved only four years of qualifying forestry work experience or the combination of four years of forestry work and qualifying educational substitution.

Upon completion of the APF program and passing of the program’s core competency requirements, mentored forester grad - uates would only need to pass an abbreviated exam that tests applied knowledge at year seven. The abbre- viated exam will be roughly equivalent to 1/2 of the current RPF exam in length and like the current RPF exam, it is focused on situational, multi–component essay questions. The effect of the proposed action will be to create a program for forestry workers and forestry graduates to begin meeting examination requirements earlier in the qualification process.

Starting at year four of the required seven years of forestry work experience, pro- gram participants will become eligible for the Appren- tice Professional Forester program. Upon completion and determination of successful passage of core com - petency requirements, the applicant will become qual- ified for an abbreviated professional exam at year sev- en that tests only applied knowledge.

This initiative is expected to increase the number of qualified forestry professionals by engaging graduates earlier, improv - ing examination outcomes through better knowledge retention, and reducing anxiety associated with the traditional licensing examination process. Early opportunity for testing will keep more forest - ry and forestry related graduates from departing from the RPF licensing pathway for jobs outside of forestry.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1598 This will help to support the RPF supervision require- ments in 14 CCR 1622. The benefit of the proposed action is to provide an opportunity for forestry graduates and workers par - ticipating in an APF educational program early exam- ination testing for core competency.

It is the opinion of the examining committee (PFEC) that this early ex- amination will result in better examination outcomes as evidenced by a trial mentorship program by the California Licensed Forester Association (CLFA) that indicate a 19% increase in exam performance for par - ticipating applicants since its inception in 2021. There is no comparable Federal regulation or statute. Board staff conducted an evaluation on wheth - er the proposed action is inconsistent or incompati - ble with existing State regulations pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (3) (D).

State regulations related to the proposed action were, in fact, relied upon in the devel- opment of the proposed action to ensure the consisten- cy and compatibility of the proposed action with exist- ing State regulations. Otherwise, the education and training of forestry professionals and determined that the proposed action would effectively complement these regulations, en - suring a comprehensive approach to meeting the in - creased demand for Registered Professional Foresters.

Based on this evaluation and effort, the Board has de - termined that the proposed regulations are neither in - consistent nor incompatible with existing State regu - lations. The proposed regulation is entirely consistent and compatible with existing Board rules. Statute to which the proposed action was compared:

Chapter 8,

Part 2, Division 4, Public Resources Code. Regulations to which the proposed action was com- pared:

Article 3, Subchapters 1 and 2,

Chapter 10, Di- vision 1.5, Title 14, California Code of Regulations. MANDATED BY FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATIONS The proposed action is not mandated by Federal law or regulations. The proposed action neither conflicts with, nor du - plicates, Federal regulations. There are no comparable Federal regulations con - cerning meadows and wet areas during timber oper - ations. No existing Federal regulations meeting the same purpose as the proposed action were identified.

OTHER STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (4)) There are no other matters as are prescribed by stat- ute applicable to the specific State agency or to any specific regulation or class of regulations. LOCAL MANDATE (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (5)) The proposed action does not impose a mandate on local agencies or school districts. FISCAL IMPACT (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (6)) There is no cost to any local agency or school dis - trict that is required to be reimbursed under

Part 7 (commencing with

Section 17500) of Division 4 of the Government Code. A local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by the act, within the meaning of

Section 17556 of the Government Code. The proposed action will not result in the imposi - tion of other non–discretionary costs or savings to lo - cal agencies. The proposed action will not result in costs or sav - ings in Federal funding to the State. The proposed action will not result in costs to any State agency. The proposed action represents a con - tinuation of existing forest practice regulations related to the conduct of timber operations and will not result in any direct or indirect costs or savings to any state agency.

HOUSING COSTS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (12)) The proposed action will not significantly affect housing costs. SIGNIFICANT STATEWIDE ADVERSE ECONOMIC IMPACT DIRECTLY AFFECTING BUSINESS, INCLUDING ABILITY TO COMPETE (pursuant to GOV §§ 11346.3(a), 11346.5(a) (7) and 11346.5(a) (8)) The proposed action will not have a significant statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting business, including the ability of California businesses to compete with businesses in other states (by making it costlier to produce goods or services in California).

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1599 FACTS, EVIDENCE, DOCUMENTS, TESTIMONY, OR OTHER EVIDENCE RELIED UPON TO SUPPORT INITIAL DETERMINATION IN THE NOTICE THAT THE PROPOSED ACTION WILL NOT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON BUSINESS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.2(b) (5) and GOV § 11346.5(a) (8)) Contemplation by the Board of the economic impact of the provisions of the proposed action through the lens of the decades of contemplating forest practice in California that the Board brings to bear on regulatory development.

STATEMENTS OF THE RESULTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT The results of the economic impact assessment are provided below pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (10) and prepared pursuant to GOV § 11346.3(b) (1) (A)– (D).

The proposed action: ● Will not create jobs within California (GOV § 11346.3(b) (1) (A)); ● Will not eliminate jobs within California (GOV § 11346.3(b) (1) (A)); ● Will not create new businesses (GOV § 11346.3(b) (1) (B)); ● Will not eliminate existing businesses within California (GOV § 11346.3(b) (1) (B)); ● Will not affect the expansion or contraction of businesses currently doing business within Cal - ifornia (GOV § 11346.3(b) (1) (C)); ● Will yield nonmonetary benefits (GOV § 11346.3(b) (1) (D)).

The proposed action will yield significant nonmonetary benefits by en - hancing the professional development and ex - pertise of future foresters. This will improve the management and conservation of California’s for- ests, contributing to healthier forest ecosystems and better wildfire mitigation. By establishing clear pathways and standards for forestry educa - tion and licensing, the proposed action will also increase clarity and efficiency in the enforcement of the Forest Practice Rules. The proposed action will not affect the health and welfare of California residents or worker safety.

COST IMPACTS ON REPRESENTATIVE PERSON OR BUSINESS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (9)) The agency is not aware of any cost impacts that a representative private person or business would nec - essarily incur in reasonable compliance with the pro - posed action. No adverse impacts are to be expected. BUSINESS REPORT (pursuant to GOV §§ 11346.5(a) (11) and 11346.3(d)) The proposed action does not impose a business re - porting requirement.

SMALL BUSINESS (defined in GOV 11342.610) The proposed regulation may affect small business, though small businesses, within the meaning of GOV § 11342.610, are not expected to be significantly affect- ed by the proposed action. Small business, pursuant to 1 CCR § 4(a):

(1) Is legally required to comply with the regulation;

(2) Is not legally required to enforce the regulation;

(3) Does not derive a benefit from the enforcement of the regulation;

(4) May incur a detriment from the enforcement of the regulation if they do not comply with the regulation.

ALTERNATIVES INFORMATION In accordance with GOV § 11346.5(a) (13), the Board must determine that no reasonable alternative it considers, or that has otherwise been identified and brought to the attention of the Board, would be more effective in carrying out the purpose for which the ac- tion is proposed, or would be as effective and less bur- densome to affected private persons than the proposed action, or would be more cost–effective to affected pri- vate persons and equally effective in implementing the statutory policy or other provision of law.

CONTACT PERSON Requests for copies of the proposed text of the regu- lations, the Initial Statement of Reasons, modified text of the regulations and any questions regarding the sub- stance of the proposed action may be directed to:

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1600 Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Attention: Andrew Lawhorn Forestry Assistant II P.O. Box 944246 Sacramento, CA 94244–2460 Telephone: (916) 902–5061 The designated backup person in the event Mr. Law- horn is not available is Jane Van Susteren Regulations Coordinator for the Board of Forestry and Fire Protec- tion. Ms. Van Susteren may be contacted at the above address or phone. A V AILABILITY STATEMENTS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(A) (16), (18)) All of the following are available from the contact person: 1.

Express terms of the proposed action using UN- DERLINE to indicate an addition to the Califor - nia Code of Regulations and STRIKETHROUGH to indicate a deletion. 2. Initial Statement of Reasons, which includes a statement of the specific purpose of each adop - tion, amendment, or repeal, the problem the Board is addressing, and the rationale for the determination by the Board that each adoption, amendment, or repeal is reasonably necessary to carry out the purpose and address the problem for which it is proposed. 3. The information upon which the proposed action is based (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(b)). 4.

Changed or modified text. After holding the hearing and considering all timely and relevant comments received, the Board may adopt the proposed regulations substantially as described in this notice. If the Board makes modifications which are sufficiently related to the originally pro- posed text, it will make the modified text — with the changes clearly indicated — available to the public for at least 15 days before the Board adopts the regulations as revised.

Notice of the comment period on changed regulations, and the full text as modified, will be sent to any person who testi- fied at the hearings, submitted comments during the public comment period, including written and oral comments received at the public hearing, or requested notification of the availability of such changes from the Board of Forestry and Fire Pro- tection. The Board will accept written comments on the modified regulations for 15 days after the date on which they are made available.

FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS When the Final Statement of Reasons (FSOR) has been prepared, the FSOR will be available from the contact person on request. INTERNET ACCESS All of the material referenced in the Avail - ability Statements is also available on the Board web site at: https://bof.fire.ca.gov/regulations/ proposed–rule–packages/ TITLE 14. BOARD OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION FIRE RISK REDUCTION COMMUNITY LIST AMENDMENTS, 2025 BOARD OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION DIVISION 1.5,

CHAPTER 7, SUBCHAPTER 1,

ARTICLE 3 NATURE OF PROCEEDING Notice is hereby given that the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) is pro - posing to take the action described in the Informative Digest. PUBLIC HEARING The Board will hold a public hearing on January 22, 2025, at its regularly scheduled meeting commenc - ing at 9:00 a.m., in a conference room on the second floor, RM 2–302, of the Natural Resources Building, 715 P Street, Sacramento, CA. At the hearing, any per- son may present statements or arguments, orally or in writing, relevant to the proposed action. The Board re- quests, but does not require, that persons who make oral comments at the hearing also submit a written

summary of their statements. Additionally, pursuant to Government Code (GOV) § 11125.1(b), writings that are public records pursuant to GOV § 11125.1(

a) and that are distributed to members of the state body prior to or during a meeting, pertaining to any item to be considered during the meeting, shall be made avail- able for public inspection at the meeting if prepared by the state body or a member of the state body, or after the meeting if prepared by some other person. Attendees may also participate via the online meet - ing platform or telephone conferencing. To partic - ipate via the online meeting platform please email PublicComments@bof.ca.gov by 4:30 p.m. on January

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1601 21, 2025, to request a link to the meeting. A link to the meeting will also be posted under the “Webinar Infor- mation” heading on the front page of the Board web - site, no later than 8:00 a.m. the morning of the hearing. WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD Any person, or authorized representative, may sub - mit written comments relevant to the proposed regu - latory action to the Board. The written comment peri - od ends on January 22, 2025, at the conclusion of the public hearing.

schedule a public hearing on this proposed action. However, the Board will hold a hear- ing if it receives a written request for a public hearing from any interested person, or their authorized repre - sentative, no later than 15 days before the close of the written comment period. Written comments shall be submitted to the follow- ing address: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Attention: Marcie Yates Land Use Planning Program Manager P.O.

Section 4290.1, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 51177 and 51178, Govern- ment Code; and Sections 4102, 4125, 4126, 4127 and 4290.1, Public Resources Code. INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW (pursuant to GOV 11346.5(a) (3) (A)–(D)) California Public Resources Code

Section 4290.1, a provision of Assembly Bill 1823 passed in 2019 (Chap- ter 399), requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) to develop criteria for and maintain a list of Local Agencies located in a State Responsi - bility Area (SRA) or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) which meet best practices for local fire planning. Public Resources Code

Section 4124.7 requires that the Department of Forestry and Fire Pro- tection (Department) prioritize local assistance grant funding applications from Local Agencies based on this Fire Risk Reduction Communities List (List). Ad- ditionally, the Department of Insurance “Safer From Wildfires” regulations in Title 10,

Section 2644.9(d), require insurance companies to use a rating plan that takes into account and reflects whether a structure is in a Fire Risk Reduction Community. Public Resourc- es Code 4290.1 requires the Board to consider criteria relating to the Board’s fire safety standards and recom- mendations as well as community–based plans or pro- grams that demonstrate dedication to fire planning. By qualifying for the List, a Local Agency demonstrates both compliance with the Board’s requirements and dedication to fire planning that exceeds state mini - mum standards.

To promote equity, the regulations in- clude additional avenues for low–income Local Agen- cies to qualify for the List and therefore receive prior- ity for local assistance grant funding and appropriate insurance ratings plans. Currently the list is updated every other year, to be effective July 1 st of even–numbered years, pursuant to 14 CA Code of Regs 1268.03. The first iteration of the list was published in July of 2022. The most re - cent iteration of the list was published in July of 2024.

Fire Risk Reduction Community List ( FRRCL) ap - plications have nearly doubled between the first cycle in 2022 and the most recent in 2024. As the program continues to gain interest, the number of applicants is expected to continue to increase in subsequent cycles. The problem is that the current regulations contain errors, outdated data, incorrect language, lack of clar - ity for applicants, and an insufficient timeline to sup - port the programs growing demands. The current defi- nition of low–income agency relies on data from 2019 which is increasingly inaccurate.

The term “Fire Safe- ty Survey” is ambiguous which has caused confusion in the implementation of the regulation. Current reg - ulation for subdivision map submission to the Board contains an error in the effective year of implementa - tion causing it to be out of conformance with statute. The term tribal agency is inaccurate with cultural lan - guage. With only one point of contact and no position

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1602 title there was no way to reach an applicant if they left their position during the application process. Finally, the timeline established for the application review pe- riod, is not sufficient to keep pace with the growing number of applicants resulting from increased aware - ness of the program combined with the list being uti - lized beyond its original intended scope. The purpose of the proposed action is to amend out- dated and erroneous information in current regulation and expand the application review timeline.

The effect of the proposed action is a transparent and clear application process for local agencies, and an enhanced review timeframe so the program can con - tinue to meet the needs and expectations of the regu - lated public. The primary benefit of the proposed action is to en- hance the effectiveness of the application of the pro - gram by creating a sustainable timeline, updating reg- ulations to stay abreast with current data on income, and enhancing regulatory clarity.

As a result, this reg- ulatory action will have a positive effect on the imple- mentation of the FRRCL program, benefiting public health and safety via the effective awarding of grants for local wildfire prevention projects. There is no comparable Federal regulation or statute. Board staff conducted an evaluation on wheth - er the proposed action is inconsistent or incompati - ble with existing State regulations pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (3) (D).

State regulations related to the proposed action were, in fact, relied upon in the devel- opment of the proposed action to ensure the consisten- cy and compatibility of the proposed action with exist- ing State regulations. Otherwise, Board staff evaluated the balance of ex - isting State regulations related to measures concern - ing conversion of timberland within State regulations that met the same purpose as the proposed action. Based on this evaluation and effort, the Board has de - termined that the proposed regulations are neither in - consistent nor incompatible with existing State regu - lations.

The proposed regulation is entirely consistent and compatible with existing Board rules. Statute to which the proposed action was compared: Sections 51179(a), 65302.5(b), and 66474.02, Govern- ment Code. Regulations to which the proposed action was com- pared: Articles 1 and 2, Subchapter 1,

Chapter 7, Divi- sion 1.5, Title 14, California Code of Regulations; Ar- ticle 1, Subchapter 2,

Chapter 7, Division 1.5, Title 14, California Code of Regulations; Articles 1 and 3, Sub-

chapter 3,

Chapter 7, Division 1.5, Title 14, California Code of Regulations;

Part 9, Title 24, California Code of Regulations. MANDATED BY FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATIONS The proposed action is not mandated by Federal law or regulations. The proposed action neither conflicts with, nor du - plicates, Federal regulations. There are no comparable Federal regulations con - cerning Fire Risk Reduction Community List. No ex - isting Federal regulations meeting the same purpose as the proposed action were identified.

Part 7 (commencing with

Section 17556 of the Government Code. The proposed action will not result in the imposi - tion of other non–discretionary costs or savings to lo - cal agencies. The proposed action will not result in costs or sav - ings in Federal funding to the State. The proposed action will not result in costs to any State agency. HOUSING COSTS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (12)) The proposed action will not significantly affect housing costs.

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1603 SIGNIFICANT STATEWIDE ADVERSE ECONOMIC IMPACT DIRECTLY AFFECTING BUSINESS, INCLUDING ABILITY TO COMPETE (pursuant to GOV §§ 11346.3(a), 11346.5(a) (7) and 11346.5(a) (8)) The proposed action will not have a significant statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting business, including the ability of California businesses to compete with businesses in other states (by making it costlier to produce goods or services in California).

FACTS, EVIDENCE, DOCUMENTS, TESTIMONY, OR OTHER EVIDENCE RELIED UPON TO SUPPORT INITIAL DETERMINATION IN THE NOTICE THAT THE PROPOSED ACTION WILL NOT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON BUSINESS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.2(b) (5) and GOV § 11346.5(a) (8)) Contemplation by the Board of the economic impact of the provisions of the proposed action through the lens of the decades of contemplating forest practice in California that the Board brings to bear on regulatory development.

The proposed action will benefit the health and wel- fare of California residents, worker safety, and the State environment by reducing the impact of wild - fire to residents in the SRA and VHFHSZ. The po - tential for placement on this List incentivizes local fire planning processes or programs that go beyond the minimum requirements, encouraging more Lo - cal Agencies to engage in these processes and pro - grams which mitigate risks to health, safety and the environment.

By meeting the List criteria which re - quire local fire planning to meet and exceed state min- imum standards, jurisdictions are reducing the poten - tial for a catastrophic wildfire that would otherwise re- sult in losses of life and property and impact smoke– sensitive populations. By reducing the likelihood that wildfires might become urban conflagrations, the pro- posed action may improve the ecological health of the SRA and VHFHSZ landscape, leading to a more natu- ral fire regime and an improved environment.

(1) Is not legally required to comply with the regulation;

(2) Is not legally required to enforce the regulation;

(3) Does not derive a benefit from the enforcement of the regulation;

(4) Will not incur a detriment from the enforcement of the regulation. ALTERNATIVES INFORMATION In accordance with GOV § 11346.5(a) (13), the Board must determine that no reasonable alternative it considers, or that has otherwise been identified and brought to the attention of the Board, would be more effective in carrying out the purpose for which the ac- tion is proposed, or would be as effective and less bur- densome to affected private persons than the proposed

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1604 action, or would be more cost–effective to affected pri- vate persons and equally effective in implementing the statutory policy or other provision of law. CONTACT PERSON Requests for copies of the proposed text of the regu- lations, the Initial Statement of Reasons, modified text of the regulations and any questions regarding the sub- stance of the proposed action may be directed to: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Attention: Marcie Yates Land Use Planning Program Manager P.O.

Box 944246 Sacramento, CA 94244–2460 Telephone: (916) 653–8007 The designated backup person in the event Mrs. Yates is not available is Alexandra Vest, Wildfire Planning Specialist for the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Ms. Vest may be contacted at the above ad- dress or phone. A V AILABILITY STATEMENTS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (16), (18)) All of the following are available from the contact person: 1. Express terms of the proposed action using UN- DERLINE to indicate an addition to the Califor - nia Code of Regulations and STRIKETHROUGH to indicate a deletion. 2.

Initial Statement of Reasons, which includes a statement of the specific purpose of each adop - tion, amendment, or repeal, the problem the Board is addressing, and the rationale for the determination by the Board that each adoption, amendment, or repeal is reasonably necessary to carry out the purpose and address the problem for which it is proposed. 3. The information upon which the proposed action is based (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(b)). 4. Changed or modified text.

After holding the hear- ing (if one is requested) and considering all time- ly and relevant comments received, the Board may adopt the proposed regulations substantially as described in this notice. If the Board makes modifications which are sufficiently related to the originally proposed text, it will make the mod - ified text—with the changes clearly indicated— available to the public for at least 15 days before the Board adopts the regulations as revised.

No - tice of the comment period on changed regula - tions, and the full text as modified, will be sent to any person who testified at the hearings, submit - ted comments during the public comment period, including written and oral comments received at the public hearing, or requested notification of the availability of such changes from the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Board will accept written comments on the modified regula- tions for 15 days after the date on which they are made available.

FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS When the Final Statement of Reasons (FSOR) has been prepared, the FSOR will be available from the contact person on request. INTERNET ACCESS All of the material referenced in the Avail - ability Statements is also available on the Board web site at: https://bof.fire.ca.gov/regulations/ proposed–rule–packages/ TITLE 14. BOARD OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY AREA FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONE AMENDMENTS, 2025 BOARD OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION DIVISION 1.5,

CHAPTER 7, SUBCHAPTER 3,

ARTICLE 1 NATURE OF PROCEEDING Notice is hereby given that the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) is pro - posing to take the action described in the Informative Digest. PUBLIC HEARING The Board has not scheduled a public hearing on this proposed action. However, the Board will hold a hearing if it receives a written request for a public hearing from any interested person, or his or her au - thorized representative, no later than 15 days before the close of the written comment period. Any request should be made to the contact information provided below.

Public Hearing request may be submitted by mail to the following address: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Attention: Marcie Yates Land Use Planning Program Manager

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1605 P.O. Box 944246 Sacramento, CA 94244–2460 Public Hearing requests can also be hand delivered to the contact person listed in this notice at the follow- ing address: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection 715 P Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Public Hearing requests may also be delivered via email at the following address: PublicComments@BOF.ca.gov WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD Any person, or authorized representative, may sub - mit written comments relevant to the proposed regula- tory action to the Board. The written comment period ends on January 20, 2025.

The Board will consider only written comments re - ceived at the Board office by that time. The Board re - quests, but does not require, that persons who submit written comments to the Board reference the title of the rulemaking proposal in their comments to facili - tate review. Written comments shall be submitted to the follow- ing address: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Attention: Marcie Yates Land Use Planning Program Manager P.O.

Section 51179, Government Code (GC). Reference: Sections 4125, 4201, 4202, 4203 and 4204, Public Resources Code; and Sections 51178, 51179 and 51182, Government Code. INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW (pursuant to GOV 11346.5(a) (3) (A)–(D)) California Government Code

Section 51179(

a) re - quires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal pursuant to subdivisions (

b) and (

c) of

Section 51178. Within 30 days of adopting this ordi - nance, GC 51179(

c) requires the local agency to send those ordinances to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Previously, GC 51178 and 51179 only ap- plied to very high fire hazard severity zones. AB 211 (Committee on Budget, 2002) revised GC 51179 to re- quire local agencies to adopt moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones and send those ordi - nances to the Board. The problem is existing regulations only apply to very high fire hazard severity zones. Additionally, current regulation lacks details and clarity on the sub - mission requirements impeding the ability of local agencies to comply.

The purpose of the proposed action is to implement and make specific the Legislature’s requirement in GC 51179(

c) that local agencies send their adopted ordi - nances to the Board. The effect of the proposed action is to bring regu - lation into conformity with statue and provide local agencies a transparent and consistent process for sub - mitting their ordinances to the Board. The primary benefit of the proposed action is a clear, direct, and standardized process that maximizes effi - ciency, provides transparency to the regulated public, and is utilized effectively to prevent property and life losses in the wildland–urban interface due to fire.

As a result, this regulatory action will have a positive effect on the protection of public health and safety, worker safety, and the environment. There is no comparable Federal regulation or statute. Board staff conducted an evaluation on wheth - er the proposed action is inconsistent or incompati - ble with existing State regulations pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (3) (D). State regulations related to the proposed action were, in fact, relied upon in the devel- opment of the proposed action to ensure the consisten- cy and compatibility of the proposed action with exist- ing State regulations.

Otherwise, Board staff evaluated the balance of ex - isting State regulations related to measures concern - ing conversion of timberland within State regulations that met the same purpose as the proposed action. Based on this evaluation and effort, the Board has de - termined that the proposed regulations are neither in - consistent nor incompatible with existing State regu -

CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2024, VOLUME NUMBER 49–Z 1606 lations. The proposed regulation is entirely consistent and compatible with existing Board rules. Statute to which the proposed action was compared: Government Code: 51177, 51178, 51179, 51182. Public Resources Code: 7–2, 4101, 4102, 4203, 4204, 4125, 4126, 4127, 4290, 4290.1. Health and Safety Code: 13100 and 13101. Regulations to which the proposed action was com- pared: Title 14, division 1.5,

chapter 7,

article 1, sec - tions 1220–1220.5, and Title 19, sections 2200–2201, California Code of Regulations. MANDATED BY FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATIONS The proposed action is not mandated by Federal law or regulations. The proposed action neither conflicts with, nor du - plicates, Federal regulations. There are no comparable Federal regulations con - cerning Fire Hazard Severity Zone Ordinance Sub - mission. No existing Federal regulations meeting the same purpose as the proposed action were identified.

OTHER STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (4)) There are no other matters as are prescribed by stat- ute applicable to the specific State agency or to any specific regulation or class of regulations. LOCAL MANDATE (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (5)) The proposed action does impose a mandate on lo - cal agencies or school districts. The local mandate is not reimbursable by the state per Gov. Code

section 11346.5(a) (5). FISCAL IMPACT (pursuant to GOV § 11346.5(a) (6)) There is no cost to any local agency or school dis - trict that is required to be reimbursed under

Part 7 (commencing with

Section 17556 of the Government Code. The proposed action will not result in the imposi - tion of other non–discretionary costs or savings to lo - cal agencies. The proposed a

Document details

Collection	California Z Register
Citation	Cal. Reg. Notice Reg. 2024, No. 49
Type	gazette
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	CA_ZREG
Identifier	ad574117e1dc0ed287fc35408d66cc678247c759

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).