The City Council's Legislative Subcommittee regularly reviews pending legislation affecting Carlsbad to ensure our city's interests are represented. The city takes a formal position on or sponsors certain legislation, based on the City Council's legislative platform. 

AB 1774 (Dixon) Vehicles: electric bicycles

City Position: Support

Would prohibit the sale of a product or device that would modify the speed ability of an electric bicycle. 

AB 1779 (Irwin) Theft: jurisdiction

City Position: Support

Would authorize prosecutors to charge related incidents of organized retail theft and other related offenses in one filing in one county superior court, even if some of those offenses occurred in another or multiple other county jurisdictions. 

AB 1794 (McCarty) Crimes: larceny

City Position: Support 

Would allow for the aggregation of theft crimes across various locations and victims. 

AB 1886 (Alvarez) Housing Element Law: substantial compliance: Housing Accountability Act

City Position: Oppose

Would create a rebuttable presumption of validity for the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) findings when reviewing a planning agency’s draft housing element.

AB 2081 (Davies) Substance abuse: recovery and treatment programs

City Position: Support

Would require the operator of a licensed recovery home to disclose to those seeking care that they can check the Department of Health Care Services website to confirm a facility's compliance with State licensing laws. 

AB 2236 (Bauer-Kahan) Solid waste: reusable grocery bags: standards: plastic film prohibition

City Position: Support

Would ban the use of plastic bags at checkout in stores and would revise the definition of “recycled paper bag” to require it be made from a minimum of 50% percent postconsumer recycled materials. 

AB 2257 (Wilson) Local government: property-related water and sewer fees and assessments: remedies

City Position: Support

Would prohibit a person or entity from bringing a judicial action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with the constitutional provisions for any new, increased, or extended fee or assessment unless that person or entity has timely submitted to the local agency a written objection to that fee or assessment that specifies the grounds for alleging noncompliance.  

AB 2259 (Boerner) Transportation: bicycle safety handbook

City Position: Support

Would require the DMV to produce an electronic Bicycle Driver Safety Handbook.

AB 2557 (Ortega) Local agencies: contracts for special services and temporary help: performance reports

City Position: Oppose

Would require a city that solicits and enters into a contract for special services to post that contract and related documents on its website, and that each person who enters into a contract for special services with a local agency—or had entered into such a contract in the prior five years— shall submit quarterly performance reports every 180 days to the local agency and the agency’s employee organization.

AB 2560 (Alvarez) Density Bonus Law: California Coastal Act of 1976

City Position: Oppose

Would eliminate the California Coastal Act exemption from Density Bonus Law.

AB 2561 (McKinnor) Local public employees: vacant positions

City Position: Oppose

Would require each public agency with bargaining unit vacancy rates exceeding 10% for more than 90 days within the past 180 days to meet and confer with a representative of the recognized employee organization to produce, publish, and implement a plan to fill all vacant positions within 180 days.

AB 2574 (Valencia) Alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment programs and facilities: disclosures

City Position: Support

Would expand the State’s oversight ability to investigate the financial relationships between recovery residences, treatment facilities and certified programs. 

AB 2684 (Bryan) Safety element: extreme heat

City Position: Support

Would require a city, upon the next update of one or more of the elements included in the general plan on or after January 1, 2028, to review and update its safety element to address the hazard of extreme heat.

AB 2729 (Patterson) Residential fees and charges

City Position: Oppose

Would remove the option for a local agency to collect fees before the final inspection or certificate of occupancy, unless it has a specific plan and funds already set aside for public improvements.

AB 2943 (Zbur and Rivas) Crimes: shoplifting

City Position: Support

Contains multiple provisions pertaining to shoplifting, grand theft, criminal deprivation of a retail business opportunity, and theft-related probation and diversion.

AB 3093 (Ward) Land use: housing element: streamlined multifamily housing

City Position: Oppose

Would require local governments to account for the housing needs of people experiencing homelessness or near homelessness in their housing elements.

AB 3209 (Berman) Crimes: theft: retail theft restraining orders

City Position: Support 

Would authorize a court to impose a Retail Crime Restraining Order for a theft offense, vandalism, or battery on an employee within the store.

SB 1037 (Wiener) Planning and zoning: housing element: enforcement

City Position: Oppose

Would allow the Attorney General to take legal action against a city and seek fines up to $50,000 per month for failure to adopt a compliant housing element or if the city does not follow state laws that require ministerial approval of certain housing projects.

SB 1053 (Blakespear) Solid waste: reusable grocery bags: standards: plastic film prohibition

City Position: Support

Would ban the use of plastic bags at checkout in stores and would revise the definition of “recycled paper bag” to require it be made from a minimum of 50% percent postconsumer recycled materials.

SB 1116 (Portantino) Unemployment insurance: trade disputes: eligibility for benefits

City Position: Oppose

Would provide employees who remain on strike for more than two weeks with unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, thus requiring employers to fund ongoing labor disputes.

SB 1242 (Min) Crimes: fires

City Position: Support

Would specify that for the crime of reckless arson, the fact that the offense was carried out within a merchant’s premises in order to facilitate organized retail theft shall be a factor in aggravation at sentencing.

SB 1271 (Min) Electric bicycles, powered mobility devices, and storage batteries

City Position: Support

Would require personal mobility devices, such as e-bikes or electric scooters, powered by a lithium-ion battery sold in California to meet certain specified safety standards.