Legislative Agenda

Current law establishes various state agencies, including the Natural Resources Agency, which consists of various departments, including the Department of Conservation, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Current law vests in the Natural Resources Agency various powers, including those related to conservation of lands. Current law establishes, within state agencies, state departments, including the Department of Transportation under the Transportation Agency. This bill would declare that it is the established policy of the state that access to nature and access to the benefits of nature is a human right and that every human has the right to safe and affordable outdoor access, among other things. The bill would require all relevant state agencies, including the Natural Resources Agency, state departments, including the Department of Transportation, and their respective departments, boards, and commissions to incorporate this state policy when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, and grant criteria, or making expenditures, pertinent to the uses of outdoor access to nature, as provided.

Would make it unlawful for a person to intentionally use or sell software or services to circumvent a security control or measure that is used to ensure an equitable campsite reservation making process for visitors, as specified. The bill would define “campsite reservation” to mean a reservation for an outdoor recreation or camping venue, including a state or local park. The bill would define “visitor” to mean a person who makes a campsite reservation with the intent to visit the outdoor recreation or camping venue for which the reservation is made. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Would enact the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $6,700,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development programs.

Would enact the Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2022, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,510,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for a wildfire prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection program.

Would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to provide assistance acquiring and accepting land immediately adjacent to, and that expands, Chino Hills State Park, by transferring 3 specified properties into the state park system. The bill would require the department to manage the acquired properties and parcels with specified funds as part of the Chino Hills State Park, as provided.

Would establish the Environmental Equity and Outdoor Access Act, which sets forth the state’s commitment to ensuring all Californians can benefit from, and have meaningful access to, the state’s rich cultural and natural resources. The bill would make related findings and declarations regarding the importance of the state’s natural resources and ensuring equal access to those resources. The bill would provide that the Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of the state to, among other things, promote representation and ensure cultural competency among staff of the agency and each department, board, conservancy, and commission within the agency, to ensure all Californians and visitors of the state feel safe and welcome in the outdoors.

Would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to waive the day use entrance fees to a unit of the state park system for any child in the 4th grade, or the 4th grade equivalent, who holds a valid federally issued “Every Kid in a Park” pass, as provided. The bill would require the department to post on its internet website information on how to obtain the federal “Every Kid in a Park” pass, including a hyperlink to the federal program establishing the pass.

The California Tourism and Marketing Act, establishes a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation named the California Travel and Tourism Commission under the direction of a board of commissioners composed of 37 members, including the Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. This bill, the California Tourism Recovery Act, would require the commission to, upon a determination by the Department of Public Health that it is safe to resume travel in California, implement a strategic media and jobs recovery campaign known as the “Calling All Californians” program for the purpose of reversing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel and tourism industry in California, as specified.

Would establish the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program and would require the Office of Planning and Research to administer the program. Under the program, the bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to coordinate the state’s efforts to address extreme heat and to facilitate the implementation of local, regional, and state climate change planning into effective projects through the awarding of competitive grants to eligible entities for implementation of those projects. The bill would establish the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Fund in the State Treasury and would require the office, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to expend moneys in the fund for the implementation of the program.