AB 35: Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: Administrative Procedure Act: exemption: program guidelines and selection criteria.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies.

The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (act), approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs.

Existing law authorizes certain regulations needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act to be adopted as emergency regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. Existing law requires the emergency regulations to be filed with the Office of Administrative Law and requires the emergency regulations to remain in effect until repealed or amended by the adopting state agency.

This bill, notwithstanding the above, would exempt the adoption of regulations for purposes of developing and adopting program guidelines and selection criteria needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. The bill would require a state entity that receives funding to administer a competitive grant program established using the Administrative Procedure Act exemption to do certain things, including, among other things, to develop draft project solicitation and evaluation guidelines, to transmit copies of the draft guidelines to the fiscal committees and to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, to hold a noticed public meeting on the draft guidelines, and to submit the final guidelines to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, except as provided. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to post an electronic form of the guidelines submitted by a state entity and the subsequent verifications on the Natural Resources Agency’s internet website. The bill would authorize the use of certain previously developed program guidelines and selection criteria for these purposes, as provided.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 22 · Republican 9

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. July 16, 2026Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 89, Statutes of 2026.
2. July 16, 2026Approved by the Governor.
3. July 15, 2026Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:15 a.m.
4. July 2, 2026Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 68. Noes 0. Page 5983.).
5. June 25, 2026In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
6. June 25, 2026Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 5014.).
7. June 23, 2026Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
8. June 22, 2026From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.
9. June 11, 2026Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
10. June 10, 2026From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 9).
11. May 6, 2026Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
12. January 27, 2026In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.