Bill Full Text
Home
-
Bills
-
Bill
-
Authors
-
Dates
-
Locations
-
Analyses
-
Organizations
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<ns0:MeasureDoc xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:ns0="http://lc.ca.gov/legalservices/schemas/caml.1#" xmlns:ns3="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" version="1.0" xsi:schemaLocation="http://lc.ca.gov/legalservices/schemas/caml.1# xca.1.xsd">
<ns0:Description>
<ns0:Id>20250SB__094997AMD</ns0:Id>
<ns0:VersionNum>97</ns0:VersionNum>
<ns0:History>
<ns0:Action>
<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-02</ns0:ActionDate>
</ns0:Action>
<ns0:Action>
<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_SENATE</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-03-11</ns0:ActionDate>
</ns0:Action>
<ns0:Action>
<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_SENATE</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-03-25</ns0:ActionDate>
</ns0:Action>
</ns0:History>
<ns0:LegislativeInfo>
<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
<ns0:SessionNum>0</ns0:SessionNum>
<ns0:MeasureType>SB</ns0:MeasureType>
<ns0:MeasureNum>949</ns0:MeasureNum>
<ns0:MeasureState>AMD</ns0:MeasureState>
</ns0:LegislativeInfo>
<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Senator Becker</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:AuthorText authorType="PRINCIPAL_COAUTHOR_ORIGINATING">(Principal coauthor: Senator Laird)</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:AuthorText authorType="PRINCIPAL_COAUTHOR_OPPOSITE">(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Berman)</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:Authors>
<ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>SENATE</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Becker</ns0:Name>
</ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Contribution>PRINCIPAL_COAUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>SENATE</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Laird</ns0:Name>
</ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Contribution>PRINCIPAL_COAUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>Berman</ns0:Name>
</ns0:Legislator>
</ns0:Authors>
<ns0:Title> An act to add Part 9 (commencing with Section 71470) to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental protection. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>environmental protection</ns0:RelatingClause>
<ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:Subject>Environmental protection: Natural Resources Agency: resource of statewide significance: Santa Cruz Mountains. </ns0:Subject>
</ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:DigestText>
<html:p>Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency, composed of departments, boards, conservancies, and commissions responsible for the restoration, protection, and management of the state’s natural and cultural resources.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would designate the Santa Cruz Mountains, as defined, as a resource of statewide significance that requires special protection, as defined. The bill would require the Natural Resources Agency and its boards, departments, and conservancies, to the extent that resources are available, and when appropriate, to encourage collaborative stewardship approaches that support the protection, restoration, and preservation of
the Santa Cruz Mountains, among other things.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Santa Cruz Mountains covering portions of the Counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.</html:p>
</ns0:DigestText>
<ns0:DigestKey>
<ns0:VoteRequired>MAJORITY</ns0:VoteRequired>
<ns0:Appropriation>NO</ns0:Appropriation>
<ns0:FiscalCommittee>YES</ns0:FiscalCommittee>
<ns0:LocalProgram>NO</ns0:LocalProgram>
</ns0:DigestKey>
<ns0:MeasureIndicators>
<ns0:ImmediateEffect>NO</ns0:ImmediateEffect>
<ns0:ImmediateEffectFlags>
<ns0:Urgency>NO</ns0:Urgency>
<ns0:TaxLevy>NO</ns0:TaxLevy>
<ns0:Election>NO</ns0:Election>
<ns0:UsualCurrentExpenses>NO</ns0:UsualCurrentExpenses>
<ns0:BudgetBill>NO</ns0:BudgetBill>
<ns0:Prop25TrailerBill>NO</ns0:Prop25TrailerBill>
</ns0:ImmediateEffectFlags>
</ns0:MeasureIndicators>
</ns0:Description>
<ns0:Bill id="bill">
<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
<ns0:BillSection id="id_47D5D278-0966-4FCE-A973-9680EB536B86">
<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
<ns0:ActionLine action="IS_ADDED" ns3:href="urn:caml:codes:PRC:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'34.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'PART'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'9.'%5D)" ns3:label="fractionType: LAW_SPREAD||commencingWith: 71470" ns3:type="locator">
Part 9 (commencing with Section 71470) is added to Division 34 of the
<ns0:DocName>Public Resources Code</ns0:DocName>
, to read:
</ns0:ActionLine>
<ns0:Fragment>
<ns0:LawHeading id="id_360426DF-65A6-4648-B82C-98BDE01C825D" type="PART">
<ns0:Num>9.</ns0:Num>
<ns0:LawHeadingVersion id="id_421E9B8C-2384-44AD-AC89-F14D47F6DDB5">
<ns0:LawHeadingText>Resource of Statewide Significance</ns0:LawHeadingText>
</ns0:LawHeadingVersion>
<ns0:LawSection id="id_4D967A08-191B-4EC4-BC0F-041F8E0F4060">
<ns0:Num>71470.</ns0:Num>
<ns0:LawSectionVersion id="id_E28E4125-CE87-4281-A08F-3C4E132C70CB">
<ns0:Content>
<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The habitat in and around the Santa Cruz Mountains contains rare and endemic species, including the San Francisco garter snake, the Santa Cruz kangaroo rat, the Santa Cruz cypress, and many more species found only in that region.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Santa Cruz Mountains are also a resource of statewide cultural, historical, and environmental significance. They provide unique habitats for wildlife, offer recreational opportunities, and deliver significant ecological benefits. The range covers a vast area, spanning parts of the Counties of San Mateo, Santa
Clara, and Santa Cruz, and is home to coast redwoods and diverse
ecosystems.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Santa Cruz Mountains are a vital wildlife corridor, connecting coastal ranges and providing habitat for numerous species, including state-listed endangered species.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The area is a crucial source of natural resources that contribute to climate resilience through carbon sequestration, water management, watershed health, erosion control, and habitat preservation.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(5)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Working lands within the Santa Cruz Mountains, including sustainably managed timberlands, ranches, and agricultural lands, are essential to the region’s economy and provide critical ecosystem services, including wildfire fuel reduction, groundwater recharge, and open-space preservation.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(6)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Santa Cruz Mountains are the ancestral homelands of Indigenous peoples who have lived in and stewarded this landscape for millennia. Their traditional ecological knowledge and ongoing cultural connection to these lands are foundational to the region’s biodiversity, ecological health, and cultural heritage.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(7)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The landscape of the Santa Cruz Mountains is comprised of a vital mosaic of publicly owned open-space and private lands, including working forests and ranches. The successful protection of this region requires a collaborative approach that respects private property rights while enhancing the stewardship efforts of both public agencies and private landowners.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For purposes of this section, “Santa Cruz Mountains”
means the area defined by the following boundaries:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The County of San Mateo west of Highway 101, north of Interstate 380, and west of Interstate 280.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The County of Santa Clara west of Interstate 280, west of Route 85, and west of Highway 101, excluding the portion of Hydrologic Unit Code 12 Upper Llagas Creek below 400 feet in elevation and all of the following Hydrologic Unit Code 12 watersheds:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Canoas Creek.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Metcalfe Canyon-Coyote Creek.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(C)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Little Llagas Creek.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(D)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Lower Llagas Creek.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The County of Santa Cruz north and east of State Highway 1.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Santa Cruz Mountains are hereby designated as a resource of statewide significance that requires special protection. For purposes of this subdivision, “protection” has the same meaning as defined in Section 90100.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
To the extent that resources are available, and when appropriate, the Natural Resources
Agency, and its boards, departments, and conservancies, shall encourage collaborative stewardship approaches that support all of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Protection, restoration, and preservation of the Santa Cruz Mountains’ natural ecosystems.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Restoration and preservation of wildlife habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Promotion of healthy forest management in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Improvement of watershed management in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(5)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Development and maintenance of trails for public access and other recreational opportunities in the Santa
Cruz Mountains.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(6)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Promotion of the long-term sustainability and conservation of working lands in the Santa Cruz Mountains to ensure they remain viable while contributing to the region’s overall environmental health.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(7)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Collaboration with local tribes to protect tribal cultural resources, partner on restoration and management efforts, and support opportunities for tribal access, cultural practices, and the potential for comanagement of ancestral lands in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(8)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Promotion of voluntary stewardship on public and private lands in the Santa Cruz Mountains through technical assistance, conservation easements, incentive programs, and multibenefit projects that contribute to the landscape-level goals
of ecological health and climate resilience.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(e)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
This section shall not be construed as authorizing the Natural Resources Agency to impose additional regulatory requirements on land use or working lands, including timber and agricultural lands, within the Santa Cruz Mountains.
</html:p>
</ns0:Content>
</ns0:LawSectionVersion>
</ns0:LawSection>
</ns0:LawHeading>
</ns0:Fragment>
</ns0:BillSection>
<ns0:BillSection id="id_ED640678-1CAA-45F5-AA54-535C4D301623">
<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
<ns0:Content>
<html:p>The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique nature of the Santa Cruz Mountains as set forth in the findings and declarations specified in Section 1 of this act.</html:p>
</ns0:Content>
</ns0:BillSection>
</ns0:Bill>
</ns0:MeasureDoc>