State Legislative Updates

February 21st was the deadline for bill introduction in the legislature, and between the Assembly and Senate, there were over 2,300 bills introduced. Bills are now moving to policy committees for debate and public comment. The SBC Government Affairs team is closely tracking priority legislation related to natural and working lands, cap and trade, climate and energy, and housing. The following bills have become top priorities for SBC so far this year:

AB 43 (Schultz) –  Would indefinitely authorize the Natural Resources secretary to add rivers or river segments to the state’s wild and scenic rivers system if the federal government’s protections are removed

• AB 240 (Alanis) – Would expand community college access in the Sierra region
• AB 362 (Ramos) – Identifies tribal water uses as a “beneficial use” to increase water quality protections for tribes 
• AB 442 (Hadwick) – Would create a CEQA exemption for fuels reductions in communities with only one evacuation route
• AB 491 (Connolly) – Would codify the state’s nature-based solutions climate targets
• AB 11 & AB 590 (Lee) – Would create a California Housing Authority and board, places a $950 million bond measure on the 2026 ballot
• AB 736 (Wicks) & SB 417 (Cabaldon) – Would place a $10 billion bond measure for affordable housing on the 2026 ballot
• AB 900 (Papan) – Would increase science-based management and stewardship of 30×30 lands
• SB 427 (Blakespear) – Would permanently authorize the Habitat Conservation Fund
• SB 581 (McGuire) – Would require seasonal firefighters employed by CAL FIRE to be transitioned to permanent firefighters 

The team is still monitoring legislative proposals that have not yet been fully formed, which could become priority bills later in the year. We will continue to closely follow this year’s legislation and what it all means for the Sierra Nevada region.