2024 Legislative Session Wrap-Up
The 2024 Legislative Session has come to an end, and many bills passed in the final days and weeks of Session are now awaiting the Governor’s consideration. The Governor has until October 1 to either sign or veto all the bills sent to his desk. As legislators await the Governor’s decisions, most are now shifting their focus to the upcoming November General Election where voters will decide who is elected in races for half of the seats in State Senate and all of the seats in the State Assembly.
There will also be several initiatives on the General Election ballot for voters to consider, including Proposition 4, known as the Climate Bond. The $10 billion bond was placed on the ballot by the Legislature earlier this year, and includes around $3.2 billion in total water infrastructure funding. The Climate Bond also has significant funding for other Climate programs such as wildfire mitigation and renewable energy. Following the November election, the Legislature will convene in early December for an organizing session to swear in new members and adopt the rules and procedures before gaveling in to the 2025-26 Legislative Session in January.
CASA will release an End of Session edition of the SLC Newsletter after the bill signing deadline providing a comprehensive recap of the year in legislation. To receive this newsletter, please contact Spencer Saks. Additionally, the State Legislative Committee will hold its annual planning meeting on Friday, December 6th, to prepare and establish priorities for the upcoming year.
Several bills of interest were sent to the Governor in this Legislative Session, including:
AB 805 (Arambula) passed through the Legislature and is headed to the Governor’s desk for his consideration. This bill authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board, until January 1, 2029, to require a sewer service provider—for a sewer system serving a disadvantaged community that has failed to meet regulatory standards, or to maintain the technical, managerial, and financial capacity needed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse—to contract with an administrator designated or approved by the State Water Board. This bill was passed with an urgency clause, which means that it will take effect immediately following the Governor’s signature CASA was extensively involved in the drafting of the bill and successfully negotiated language that requires any agency who would potentially be designated as an administrator to be willing to be appointed. Based on the extensive amendments we were able to negotiate with the author and sponsor, CASA was able to move to a neutral position on the final iteration of the bill. The temporary authority provided to the Water Board in the bill sunsets January 1, 2029, pending the results of the ongoing Wastewater Needs Assessment project. Due to the urgency clause, the Water Board may begin the process of identifying systems for utilizing this authority as soon as the bill is signed.
SB 937 (Weiner) passed through the Legislature and was amended in the last week of session with problematic language related to connection and capacity fees. These amendments would impose new and conflicting conditions for when an agency can collect connection and capacity charges. CASA moved to an oppose position following the amendments, and submitted a coalition veto letter urging the Governor to veto the bill.
AB 2515 (Papan) is a bill that would ban the use of PFAS in menstrual products, which CASA is supporting. This bill is a reintroduction of a bill that was vetoed last year. This bill also contains provisions that would allow for civil penalties to be levied against manufacturers who do not properly remove PFAS from these products. If signed by the Governor, this bill would go into effect on January 1, 2029.
SB 366 (Caballero) is a two year bill sponsored by the California Municipal Utilities Association and is headed to the Governor’s desk. The bill would require the Department of Water Resources as part of the 2033 update to The California Water Plan, to update the interim planning target for 2050. The bill would require the target to consider the identified and future water needs for all beneficial uses and ensure safe drinking water for all Californians. The bill would require the plan to include specified components, including discussions of environmental needs, urban sector water needs, and agricultural water needs, and a discussion of the estimated costs and benefits of any project type or action that is recommended by the department within the plan that could help achieve the water supply targets. CASA has a support position on the bill.