AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 16, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

96

Introduced by Senator Niello

February 10, 2026

An act to amend Sections 8557, 8627, 8629, and 8690.6 of, and to add Sections 8550.1 and 8629.1 to, the Government Code, relating to a state of emergency.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act (CESA), among other things, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency in an area affected by, or likely to be affected by, conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state if specified local officials request the proclamation or the Governor determines that local authority is inadequate to cope with the emergency. During a state of emergency, existing law confers on the Governor, to the extent the Governor deems necessary, complete authority over all agencies of the state government and the right to exercise within the area designated all police power vested in the state by the Constitution and laws of the state to effectuate the purposes of the CESA. Existing law requires the Governor, in the exercise of that authority, to promulgate, issue, and enforce orders and regulations as the Governor deems necessary.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature, in enacting the CESA, to provide flexibility for the administration to respond to emergencies, but not an alternative legislative, budget, or regulatory process. The bill would further state that, to the greatest extent possible, additional spending should be undertaken through the Legislature’s budget and policy process, as defined, and changes to law or regulation should be undertaken through state legislation.

This bill would further require the Governor, in cases where the Governor orders the suspension or modification of existing statutes or regulations, including the state Budget Act, or promulgates new statutes or regulations, to demonstrate in each order the need for those suspensions, modifications, or promulgations and specify the general reasons why the Legislature’s budget and policy processes are insufficient to address these needs.

The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services, within a year from the date of termination of a state of emergency, on or before July 1, 2027, and on or before July 1 of each year thereafter, to prepare and submit a prescribed annual report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee Legislature and the Legislative Analyst’s Office about the state of emergency. consisting of a review of all open state of emergency proclamations.

Existing law establishes the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties. Moneys in the account are continuously appropriated, subject to specified limitations, for allocation by the Director of Finance to state agencies for disaster response operation costs incurred by state agencies as a result of a state of emergency proclamation by the Governor. Existing law requires funds to be allocated from the account subject to certain conditions and upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature in enacting existing law to provide flexibility for the administration in response to unanticipated emergency expenses. The bill would further state that existing law does not provide an alternative budget process, and proposals for additional spending ordinarily should be considered in the annual state budget or other state legislation to the greatest extent possible, as specified. The bill would require notification by the Director of Finance to include certain information, including a description of the entities that will receive funding allocations from the account.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 8550.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:

8550.1.

It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this chapter, to provide flexibility for the administration to respond to emergencies. However, this chapter does not provide an alternative legislative, budget, or regulatory process. To the greatest extent possible:

(a) Additional spending should be undertaken through the Legislature’s budget and policy processes, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 8557.

(b) Changes to law or regulation should be undertaken through state legislation.

SEC. 2.

Section 8557 of the Government Code is amended to read:

8557.

(a) “State agency” means any department, division, independent establishment, or agency of the executive branch of the state government.

(b) “Political subdivision” includes any city, city and county, county, district, or other local governmental agency or public agency authorized by law.

(c) “Governing body” means the legislative body, trustees, or directors of a political subdivision.

(d) “Chief executive” means that individual authorized by law to act for the governing body of a political subdivision.

(e) “Disaster council” and “disaster service worker” have the meanings as prescribed in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3200) of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Labor Code.

(f) “Public facility” means any facility of the state or a political subdivision, which facility is owned, operated, or maintained, or any combination thereof, through moneys derived by taxation or assessment.

(g) “Sudden and severe energy shortage” means a rapid, unforeseen shortage of energy, resulting from, but not limited to, events such as an embargo, sabotage, or natural disasters, and that has a statewide, regional, or local impact.

(h) For purposes of this chapter, a “deenergization event” means a planned power outage, undertaken by an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code, to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by utility equipment, pursuant to Public Utilities Commission Resolution ESRB-8 and any decisions issued by the commission, the former Wildfire Safety Division, as set forth in former Section 326 of the Public Utilities Code, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, or any other agency with authority over electrical corporations. A deenergization event begins when an electrical corporation provides notice to any state agency or political subdivision of the potential need to initiate a planned deenergization of the electrical grid, and ends when the electrical corporation restores electrical services to all deenergized customers, or when the electrical corporation cancels the deenergization event for some or all of its affected customers, and rescinds the notice of the potential need to initiate the deenergization event. A deenergization event does not include any planned outages in connection with regular utility work.

(i) “Legislature’s budget and policy processes” means the regular and extraordinary legislative appropriations, budget, and statutory processes provided under Article IV of the California Constitution; the Senate Rules, Assembly Rules, and Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly; and any related statute.

SEC. 3.

Section 8627 of the Government Code is amended to read:

8627.

(a) During a state of emergency, the Governor, to the extent the Governor deems necessary, shall have complete authority over all agencies of the state government and the right to exercise within the area designated all police power vested in the state by the Constitution and laws of the State of California in order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

(b) In cases where the Governor orders the suspension or modification of existing statutes or regulations, including the state Budget Act, or promulgates new statutes or regulations, the Governor shall demonstrate in each order the need for those suspensions, modifications, or promulgations and specify the general reasons why the Legislature’s budget and policy processes are insufficient to address these needs.

SEC. 5.SEC. 4.

Section 8629.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:

8629.1.

(a) On or before a year from the date of final termination of a state of emergency pursuant to Section 8629, the July 1, 2027, and on or before July 1 of each year thereafter, the Office of Emergency Services shall prepare and submit a an annual report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee Legislature and the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Office consisting of a review of all open state of emergency proclamations.

(b) The report required by subdivision (a) shall include all of the following information:

(1) The conditions that warranted warrant continuing or ending the each state of emergency.

(2) The amount of actual expenditures on the each state of emergency, including state spending and federal reimbursements.

(3) The local assistance provided to political subdivisions for response and recovery, to the extent known at the time of the report.

(4) Information on any item of concern or lesson learned relating to the each state of emergency that the Office of Emergency Services determines the Legislature should be informed of to help improve the state’s emergency response process, including recommendations for statutory change.

SEC. 6.SEC. 5.

Section 8690.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:

8690.6.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to provide flexibility for the administration in response to unanticipated emergency expenses. However, this section does not provide an alternative budget process, and proposals for additional spending ordinarily should be considered in the annual state budget or other state legislation to the greatest extent possible. Specifically, augmentations for items that the administration had knowledge to include in its annual budget request, or that could be obtained through legislation with an appropriation, should not be pursued through the process provided by this section, unless the Governor determines that seeking the funds through the Legislature’s budget and policy process, as defined in Section 8557, would negatively impact response or recovery activities.

(b) The Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account is hereby established in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties. Notwithstanding Section 13340, moneys in the account are continuously appropriated, subject to the limitations specified in subdivisions (c), (d), and (e), without regard to fiscal years, for allocation by the Director of Finance to state agencies for disaster response operation costs incurred by state agencies as a result of a proclamation by the Governor of a state of emergency, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 8558. For the purposes of this section, “disaster response operations costs” is defined as costs that are immediate and necessary to deal with an ongoing or emerging crisis. These allocations may be for activities that occur within 120 days after a proclamation of emergency by the Governor.

(c) Funds shall be allocated from the account subject to the conditions of this section and upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house. Notification by the Director of Finance shall include all of the following:

(1) A description of why the funds are being allocated through the process provided by this section rather than the Legislature’s budget and policy process, as defined in Section 8557.

(2) A description of the entities that will receive funding allocations from the account.

(3) The amount of funding each entity will receive.

(4) A description of how each entity will use the funding.

(5) A description of how the amount needed by each entity was estimated.

(d) Notwithstanding the time limit established by subdivision (b) regarding disaster response activities that may be funded through the account, upon notification by the Director of Finance to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house before the expiration of the 120-day period, extensions for allocations for activities that occur after the 120-day period may occur in up to 120-day increments. Any extensions beyond the initial 120 days shall not extend beyond the end of the fiscal year in which the Director of Finance gives notice of the first extension, or the date upon which the Budget Act for the fiscal year that follows the fiscal year during which the director gave notice of the first extension is enacted, whichever is later. Each extension of up to 120 days will occur upon notification to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees in each house before the expiration of the initial 120-day period or the prior extension.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account have an unencumbered balance of one million dollars ($1,000,000) at the beginning of each fiscal year. If this account requires additional moneys to meet claims against the account, the Director of Finance may transfer moneys from the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties to the account in an amount sufficient to pay the amount of the claims that exceed the unencumbered balance in the account.

(f) Notwithstanding any other law, authorizations for acquisitions, relocations, and environmental mitigations related to activities, described in subdivision (b), shall be authorized pursuant to this section. However, these funds shall be authorized only for needs that are a direct consequence of the proclaimed emergency if failure to undertake the project may interrupt essential state services or jeopardize public health or safety. In addition, any acquisition accomplished under this subdivision shall comply with any otherwise applicable law, except as provided in the first sentence of this subdivision.

(g) Funds allocated under this section shall not be used to supplant federal funds otherwise available in the absence of state financial relief.

(h) The amount of financial assistance provided to an individual, business, or governmental entity under this section, or pursuant to any other program of state-funded disaster assistance, shall be deducted from sums received in payment of damage claims asserted against the state, its agents, or its employees, for causing or contributing to the effects of the proclaimed disaster.

(i) Any public entity administering disaster assistance to individuals shall not receive funds under this section unless it administers that assistance pursuant to the following criteria:

(1) All applications, forms, and other written materials presented to persons seeking assistance shall be available in English and in the same language used by the major non-English-speaking group within the disaster area.

(2) Bilingual staff who reflect the demographics of the disaster area shall be available to applicants.

(j) Notwithstanding any other law, funds in the Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account shall not be expended for conditions in the state’s prisons, medical facilities, or youth correctional facilities resulting solely from the action or inaction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in administering those facilities.