TO:City Council
FROM:Bob Engler, Mayor Pro Tem
David Newman, Councilmember
DATE:April 14, 2026
SUBJECT: League of California Cities Spring Policy Committee Meeting Update – March 26-27, 2026
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Receive report.
2. Find that receiving said report is not a “project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines.
LEVINE ACT ITEM: No
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. Direct and indirect costs are included in Adopted FY 2025-26 General Fund Budget.
BACKGROUND:
The League of California Cities (Cal Cities) is an association of California city officials who work together to enhance their knowledge and skills, exchange information, and combine resources so that they may influence State policy decisions that affect cities.
Founded in 1898 on the principles of local control and interagency cooperation, Cal Cities has grown from a handful of public officials to include the voluntary membership of 478 California cities. Cal Cities and its member cities are working hard to strengthen the effectiveness of their advocacy efforts. Cal Cities’ mission statement reflects this commitment to "restore and protect local control for cities through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians".
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Cal Cities coordinates seven policy committees on a variety of topics including Public Safety, Community Services, Environmental Quality, and Revenue and
Cal Cities Spring Policy Committee Meetings Update - March 26-27, 2026 April 14, 2026
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Taxation. Every year, Cal Cities accepts applications for council members to serve on these committees. Councilmember David Newman was appointed to serve on the Environmental Quality Committee, and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Engler to serve on the Transportation, Communication, and Public Works Committee. Both represent the Channel Counties Division for the 2026 term.
Each year Cal Cities hosts quarterly policy committee meetings. Two of the meetings are in-person, one in Sacramento in January, one in Costa Mesa in March, and a virtual meeting in June. As needed, the last meeting will be held at the Annual Conference in Anaheim in September.
The Transportation, Communication, and Public Works Committee meeting was held on Thursday, March 26, and the Environmental Quality Committee on Friday, March 27 at the Hilton Hotel Orange County/Costa Mesa as follows:
A. General Briefing
A general briefing was held each day before policy committees broke out into their separate meetings.
1. Welcome: Cal Cities Senior Director of Legislative Affairs Jason Rhine welcomed committee members. He encouraged members to register for the annual League Leaders Conference, to be held in Sacramento on April 22-24. The conference brings together city leaders and state representatives to discuss and share priorities. A special feature of the conference is a gubernatorial candidate forum.
2. Updates by Policy Lobbyists: Cal Cities lobbyists representing each of the seven policy areas provided a brief overview of key bills they are working on.
B. Transportation, Communications and Public Works (TCPW) - Mayor Pro Tem Bob Engler
1. Welcome: TCPW Chair Newell Arnerich, Mayor, City of Danville welcomed committee members and introduced TCPW Vice Chair Chelsea Byers, Councilmember, City of West Hollywood.
2. Informational Legislative Update By Legislative Offices: Colin Edwards, District Director, Office of Assembly Member Tri Ta: Assemblymember Ta introduced Assembly Bill 2193. This would give law enforcement the ability to ticket a company that operates a fully autonomous vehicle passenger transport service for violations of California’s traffic laws by one of their vehicles. When a driver fails to stop at a stop sign, the driver is responsible and can receive a citation. When an autonomous vehicle fails to stop at a stop sign, there is no “driver” to cite. To Cal Cities Spring Policy Committee Meetings Update - March 26-27, 2026 April 14, 2026
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correct this error in law, AB 2193 treats the autonomous vehicle’s owner as the driver, so any violation of the rules of the road is the company’s responsibility.
Brian DeFranco, Field Representative, Office of Assembly Member Davies:
Assembly Member Laurie Davies represents the beachside communities of Orange County through Oceanside in San Diego County. Bicycling is a regular activity for her coastal residents, especially children. With the advent of more powerful electric bikes (e-bikes), Member Wilson has introduced AB 1569, which would require schools that allow pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12 to park an e-bike on campus to ensure those pupils complete the e-bike safety and training program developed by the Department of the California Highway Patrol or a related safety course. The bill would also require a pupil to submit proof of completion of the above-described course to their school before parking their class bicycle on the school campus.
Cooper Strull, District Director, Office of Assembly Member Dixon: Assembly Member Diane Dixon introduced AB 1614. This bill addresses the public safety concerns of the use of e-bikes. Based on the increase of physical injuries brought about by higher speeds and loss of control. In partnership with the California Orthopedic Association, the bill will prohibit e-bike riders from allowing “piggybacking” or tandem riders.
3. Existing Policy and Guiding Principles: E-Bike Policy: Damon Conklin, TCPW Legislative Advocate, led the committee through a review and discussion about Cal Cities existing E-Bike policies. This year, the legislature introduced a record number of bills regulating E-Bikes. The committee updated existing policies to reflect new changes in technology to support public safety and the local authority on public rights of way.
4. Action Items on Legislation: The committee reviewed and discussed the following bills and recommended the following actions to the Cal Cities Board of Directors for adoption:
AB 1557 (Papan) lowers entry-level speed limits for Class 1 and 2 e-bikes, establishes new requirements for manufacturers and retailers, and establishes new civil penalties.
Committee recommendation - Support with Amendments
AB 1942 (Bauer-Kahan) proposes the creation of a mandatory statewide registration and license plate system for certain e-bikes in California.
Specifically, the bill would require Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes to be registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and display a special license plate issued by the department.
Committee recommendation - Support with Amendments
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AB 1944 (Lee) would authorize higher axle weight limits, up to 25,000 pounds per axle for zero-emission transit buses procured through a solicitation process issued between January 1, 2027, and December 31, 2031.
Committee recommendation - Support
SB 1167 (Blakespear) proposes several changes to California law governing the classification, marketing, and regulation of e-bikes and similar motorized devices. The bill primarily seeks to clarify distinctions between e- bikes, mopeds, motor driven cycles, and electric motorcycles. It also expands consumer protection and enforcement provisions related to the advertisement and sale of e-bikes.
Committee recommendation - Support
5. Legislative Update: Damon Conklin, TCPW Legislative Advocate provided a summary of bills that Cal Cities has already taken a position on:
AB 1198 (Haney, D) Public Works: Prevailing Wages - Oppose SB 935 (Choi, R) Local agency design-build projects: authorization - Support
SB 1001 (Archuleta, D) Local agency, corporation, or mutual water company: personnel access: Personal Identity Verification - Interoperable. - Cal Cities Co-Sponsor - Support
SB 1292 (Richardson, D) Enhanced curb management system - Support SB 1121 (Seyarto, R) Vehicles: commercial electric vehicle safety - Support
6. Next TCPW Meeting: Thursday, June 4, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. – Virtual.
C. Environmental Quality (EQ) - Councilmember David Newman
1. EQ Committee Welcome: Chair Max Perrey, Mayor, Mill Valley welcomed committee members and reviewed the agenda.
2. California Global Biodiversity Alliance (CalGBA) Presentation:
Representatives Rosalind Helfand, Founder, PAJE Consulting & CalGBA Steering Committee Member, and Chance Cutrano, Director of Programs, Resources Renewal Institute & CalGBA Steering Committee Member provided an overview of the organization. CalGBA is a statewide coalition of government agencies, non- governmental organizations, tribal leaders, and academics dedicated to aligning Cal Cities Spring Policy Committee Meetings Update - March 26-27, 2026 April 14, 2026
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California’s conservation policies with international standards. Established to bridge the gap between local action and global targets, the alliance specifically supports the United Nations Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and California’s own 30x30 initiative to protect 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030. By securing official observer status at UN biodiversity summits and coordinating large-scale delegations to conferences like United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, CalGBA ensures that California’s regional efforts—such as habitat restoration and wildfire resilience—are recognized as vital contributions to the global fight against the biodiversity crisis.
3. Action Items on Legislation: The committee reviewed and discussed the following bills and recommended the following actions to the Cal Cities Board of Directors for adoption:
AB 1642 (Harabedian) Wildfires: contamination standards: This bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to adopt emergency regulations establishing science-informed, health-based standards for investigating, testing, and removing contaminants following a wildfire. The bill would also require DTSC, in consultation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), to adopt additional regulations establishing health-based standards for hazardous chemicals following a wildfire.
Committee recommendation - Support
SB 1417 (Perez) Disaster preparedness: public water systems: This bill would require a disaster-impacted public water system to conduct a disaster impact assessment within six months of a disaster, in coordination with the disaster impacted county, before receiving state funding. The bill would require the assessment to include determining whether the best interest of the affected residences requires becoming a consolidated water system to ensure access to quality water and adequate supply. The bill would require the coordinating local bodies to be subject to the California Public Records Act, to provide the opportunity for public comment and arrange for live translation. The bill would make it a misdemeanor if these requirements are violated, therefore expanding the scope of a crime, and thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
Committee recommendation - Watch
AB 2013 (Bennett) Fire risk areas: water suppliers: emergency preparedness plan: The bill would require a water supplier that services more than 100 customers that are located in a fire hazard severity zone to establish an emergency preparedness plan to respond to extreme weather events and other emergencies that pose a potential threat to providing adequate water supply for firefighting.
Committee recommendation - Watch
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SB 1138 (Padilla) Load-serving entities: resource adequacy requirements:
This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) to permit a load-serving entity to demonstrate compliance with resource adequacy requirements by selling to, or otherwise entering transactions with, another load-serving entity to meet up to 25 percent of its compliance obligation on a short-term basis.
Committee recommendation - Support
AB 2266 (Schultz) Electricity: load serving-entities: This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission), beginning on and after January 1, 2030, to use a consistent capacity valuation method when setting resource adequacy and resource procurement obligations for load- serving entities. The bill would also require the Commission to initiate a process to consolidate multiple compliance reporting requirements for load- serving entities into a single reporting process.
Committee recommendation - Watch
4. Legislative Update: Melissa Sparks-Kranz, EQ Legislative Advocate reviewed bills that Cal Cities has taken a position on:
SB 899 (Grove) Fire prevention: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force:
wildfire smoke - Support
AB 35 (Alvarez, D) Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: Administrative Procedure Act: exemption: program guidelines and selection criteria - Support AB 2373 (Dixon) The California Coastal Act: local coastal program: sea level rise plan: neighborhood-scale adaptation approach - Support AB 1866 (Rogers) California Disaster Assistance Act: minimum damages thresholds- Cal Cities Co-Sponsor - Support
AB 2517 (Calderon) Fire safety: fire hazard severity zones - Cal Cities Co- Sponsor - Support
AB 762 (Irwin) Disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device:
prohibition - Support
SB 1180 (Allen, D) Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act: California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund - Support SB 1313 (McNerney, D) Public water systems: grants and loans:
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. - Cal Cities Sponsor - Support
5. Next Policy Committee Friday, June 5, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Virtual.
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COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goal:
B. Provide municipal government leadership which is open and responsive to residents, and is characterized by ethical behavior, stability, promoting public trust, transparency, confidence in the future, and cooperative interaction among civic leaders, residents, business representatives, and staff, while recognizing and respecting legitimate differences of opinion on critical issues facing the City.
PREPARED BY: Mina Layba, Legislative Affairs Manager
cmo:150-20/H:/COMMON/City Council/Council Items/2026 Staff Reports/041426/Cal Cities Spring Policy Committee Meetings