CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
99
BUDGET BILL
Introduced by Assembly Members Essayli and Gallagher
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alanis, Castillo, Davies, DeMaio, Flora, Sanchez, and Wallis)
January 21, 2025
An act to amend the Budget Act of 2024 (Chs. 22, 35, and 994, Stats. 2024), by amending Section 99.50 of, and by adding Section 11.40 to, that act, relating to the state budget, and to take effect immediately, budget bill.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: yes Local program: yes
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
The Budget Act of 2024 made appropriations for the support of state government for the 2024–25 fiscal year.
This bill would amend the Budget Act of 2024 to exempt wildfire prevention projects from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a Budget Bill.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 11.40 is added to the Budget Act of 2024 (Chapter 22 of the Statutes of 2024), to read:
SEC. 11.40.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (d) of Section 4799.05 of the Public Resources Code, Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code does not apply to a wildfire prevention project.
(b) For purposes of this section, “wildfire prevention project” includes, but is not limited to, installation and maintenance of fuel breaks, fuels reduction, roadside fuels reduction, forest thinning, prescribed fire, reforestation, timber harvesting, fuel treatments in the wildland-urban interface, dead fuel removal, and other projects that reasonably could be considered fuels reduction or vegetation management.
SEC. 2.
Section 99.50 of the Budget Act of 2024 is amended to read:
SEC. 99.50.
INDEX FOR CONTROL SECTIONS
The following is an index to the general sections of this act. These sections serve to define terms and identify restrictions concerning the appropriations contained in this act.
| 1.00 | Budget Act Citation |
| 1.50 | Intent and Format |
| 1.51 | Citations to Prior Budget Acts |
| 1.80 | Availability of Appropriations |
| 2.00 | Items of Appropriation |
| 3.00 | Defines Purposes of Appropriations |
| 3.10 | Subschedule Transfers for Capital Projects |
| 3.50 | Benefit Charges Against Salaries and Wages |
| 3.60 | Contribution to Public Employees’ Retirement Benefits |
| 3.61 | Contribution to Prefund Other Postemployment Benefits |
| 4.05 | Budget Adjustment Authority |
| 4.11 | Position Vacancy Report |
| 4.12 | Vacant Position Savings |
| 4.13 | AB 85 Repayments to Counties |
| 4.20 | Contribution to Public Employees’ Contingency Reserve Fund |
| 4.30 | Lease-Revenue Payment Adjustments |
| 4.72 | Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure |
| 4.75 | Statewide Surcharge |
| 4.80 | State Public Works Board Interim Financing |
| 4.90 | Architectural Revolving Fund Transfer |
| 4.95 | Inmate and Ward Construction Revolving Account Transfer |
| 5.25 | Attorney’s Fees |
| 6.00 | Project Alterations Limits |
| 8.00 | Antiterrorism Federal Reimbursements |
| 8.50 | Federal Funds Receipts |
| 8.51 | Federal Funds Accounts |
| 8.52 | Federal Reimbursements |
| 8.53 | Notice of Federal Audits |
| 8.54 | Enforce Recovery of Federal Funds for Statewide Indirect Costs |
| 8.75 | Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act |
| 9.30 | Federal Levy of State Funds |
| 9.50 | Minor Capital Outlay Projects |
| 11.00 | Information Technology Reporting Requirements |
| 11.10 | Reporting of Statewide Software License Agreements |
| 11.11 | Privacy of Information in Pay Stubs |
| 11.40 | Wildfire Prevention Projects |
| 11.93 | Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account Reconciliation Adjustments |
| 11.95 | Federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Home and Community-Based Services Funding |
| 11.96 | Coronavirus Fiscal Relief |
| 11.97 | State Appropriation Limit Excludable Federal Fund Appropriations for Capital Outlay |
| 12.00 | State Appropriations Limit (SAL) |
| 12.30 | Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties |
| 12.32 | Proposition 98-Funding Guarantee |
| 12.35 | Financial Aid Policy Change Requirements |
| 12.45 | June to July Payroll Deferral |
| 13.00 | Legislative Counsel Bureau |
| 13.40 | Budgetary Loan Borrowing from Special Funds |
| 14.00 | Special Fund Loans Between Boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs |
| 15.14 | Allocation of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund |
| 15.25 | Data Center Rate Adjustment |
| 15.45 | Trial Court Funding Offsets |
| 15.80 | Reparations Legislation Funding |
| 20.00 | Reappropriations and Reversions |
| 24.00 | State School Fund Allocations |
| 24.03 | Reading Control |
| 24.30 | Transfer School Building Rental Income to the General Fund |
| 24.60 | Report of Lottery Funds Received |
| 24.70 | Local Educational Agency Fiscal Accountability |
| 25.40 | Contracted Fiscal Services Costs |
| 25.50 | SCO Apportionment Payment System Assessments |
| 26.00 | Intraschedule Transfers |
| 28.00 | Program Change Notification |
| 28.50 | Agency Reimbursement Payments |
| 29.00 | Position Estimates of Governor’s Budget, May Revision, and Final Change Book |
| 30.00 | Continuous Appropriations |
| 31.00 | Budget Act Administrative Procedures for Salaries and Wages |
| 32.00 | Prohibits Excess Expenditures |
| 33.00 | Item Veto Severability |
| 34.00 | Constitutional Severability |
| 35.21 | Application of Net Final Payment Accrual Methodology |
| 35.35 | FI$Cal—Short-Term Cash Loans |
| 35.50 | Estimated General Fund Revenues and Various Estimates Related to the Budget Stabilization Account |
| 38.00 | Provides That This Bill Is a Budget Bill |
| 39.00 | Identification of Bills Related to the Budget Bill |
| 99.00 | Alphabetical Organization Index |
| 99.50 | Numerical Control Section Index |
SEC. 3.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
SEC. 4.
This act is a Budget Bill within the meaning of subdivision (e) of Section 12 of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall take effect immediately.