Bill > AB211

This bill makes several key changes: 1. It increases the fines and civil penalties for violations of laws related to pest control operations, pesticides, and structural pest control devices. The minimum fine is increased from $500 to $5,000 and the maximum fine is increased from $5,000 to $50,000 for a first violation. The minimum civil liability is increased from $1,000 to $3,000 and the maximum is increased from $10,000 to $30,000 for a first violation. 2. It authorizes the Director of Pesticide Regulation to request sales, purchase, and distribution records related to produce if the director finds or suspects the produce has excessive pesticide residue, and allows the director to levy civil penalties for violations of this provision. 3. It makes changes to the reporting requirements for the Geologic Energy Management Division, including requiring the division to report on the number of operations where staff witnessed them remotely versus in-person. It also authorizes the division to witness certain operations remotely on a case-by-case basis. 4. It extends the authority of the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to provide advance payments from grants awarded for projects to improve forest health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 5. It provides an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act for certain projects related to public access at Hollister Ranch in Santa Barbara County, as well as an exemption for projects funded by the Nature-Based Solutions Tribal Program or tribal cultural burn and wildfire funding. 6. It makes various changes to the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, including authorizing the use of "bag drop" recycling machines, expanding quality incentive payments, and extending the market development payment program. 7. It establishes the Community Resilience Center Program to provide funding for the construction or retrofitting of community resilience centers. 8. It allocates over $1.4 billion from the General Fund and California Emergency Relief Fund to various state agencies for drought response, water infrastructure, habitat restoration, zero-emission vehicle investments, and wildfire and forest resilience programs. 9. It expresses the Legislature's intent to allocate over $2.4 billion for zero-emission vehicle investments and $500 million for climate initiatives in future fiscal years.

Budget and Finance

Budget (Assembly)

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB211