AB-35 • 2026

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

Elections

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Alvarez
Last action: 2026-01-27
Official status: In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide details on what happens if guidelines submitted to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency do not meet requirements.

Safe Drinking Water and Wildfire Prevention Bond Act: Administrative Procedure Exemption

AB-35 exempts regulations needed for the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act from certain requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

What This Bill Does

Exempts regulations needed to implement the bond act from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.
Requires state entities receiving funding to create guidelines for competitive grant programs and submit them to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency.
Authorizes the use of previously developed program guidelines and selection criteria for new programs under this exemption.

Who It Names or Affects

State agencies that adopt regulations related to safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparedness, and clean air.
Entities receiving funding from the bond act to administer grant programs.

Terms To Know

Administrative Procedure Act: A law setting rules for how state agencies make regulations.
Emergency Regulations: Rules made quickly in response to urgent situations, usually under special conditions.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify which exact programs or entities will be affected by the exemption.
It is unclear how much flexibility this change gives state agencies in creating regulations.

Bill History

2026-01-27 California Legislative Information
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
2026-01-26 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 3826.).
2026-01-22 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2026-01-22 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (January 22).
2026-01-22 California Legislative Information
Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Page 3806.)
2026-01-15 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2026-01-14 California Legislative Information
Read second time and amended.
2026-01-13 California Legislative Information
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (January 12).
2026-01-06 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
2026-01-05 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. Read second time and amended.
2025-04-22 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
2025-04-21 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. Read second time and amended.
2025-02-18 California Legislative Information
Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and JUD.
2024-12-03 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be heard in committee January 2.
2024-12-02 California Legislative Information
Read first time. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 35, as amended, Alvarez.
Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: Administrative Procedure Act: exemption: program guidelines and selection criteria.
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 would delete the above provisions relating to the adoption of regulations to implement the act as emergency regulations and would instead exempt the adoption of those regulations from the Administrative Procedure Act.
This bill, notwithstanding the above, would
exempt the adoption of regulations 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 develop draft project solicitation and evaluation guidelines and to submit those 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.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Download Bill PDF