Appropriations Committee approves dozens of bills, including student health, park acquisitions and water infrastructure changes

The California State Assembly Appropriations Committee met April 9 and advanced more than a dozen bills to the Assembly floor, including items on school-based health reimbursements, state park land acquisitions, agricultural commission law modernization, higher-education loan caps and a clarification that reproductive health care is included in emergency services.

Committee staff opened the hearing saying 111 bills were scheduled for consideration. The committee dispensed with a large consent calendar and then took author presentations on a series of bills that moved out on roll calls or “AB” roll calls during the hearing.

Votes at a glance (selected bills presented and committee action):

- AB 439 (Rogers) — Coastal Act streamlining. Removes a 10-day wait period for certain de minimis amendments and changes a reporting frequency from annually to every five years; committee analysis estimated minor, absorbable costs to the California Coastal Commission. Outcome: approved (out on roll call). Notes: committee record noted some Republican members did not vote; Miss Dixon and Mr. Taub recorded “no” votes in the hearing remarks.

- AB 322 (Ward) — School-based health and mental health services reimbursement. Encourages the California Department of Education to promote programs that allow Local Education Agencies to claim Medicaid reimbursement for school-based health and behavioral health services. Outcome: approved (out on roll call). Notes: committee remarks said Republicans did not vote; supporting testimony from Denise Morgan on behalf of the California State VA was recorded.

- AB 679 (Pellerin, presented by Mr. Hart) — State parks acquisition process. Adds certain parcels associated with Big Basin, Año Nuevo, Butano and related state parks to exemptions from the Public Works Board process to expedite acquisitions. Outcome: approved (out on AB roll call). Notes: sponsor testimony from Abigail Smet of Sempervirens Fund; analysis said expected costs are minor and absorbable.

- AB 482 (author not specified on record) — California Table Grape Commission modernization. Updates the 1967 statutory framework, adjusts assessment cap language (does not itself raise the assessment), and leaves assessment decisions to the elected commission. Outcome: approved (out on AB roll call). Notes: testimony from a representative of the California Table Grape Commission; committee comments emphasized economic importance to San Joaquin and Coachella Valley communities.

- AB 681 (El Hawari) — Increase annual loan cap for California Dream Loan program from $4,000 to $20,500 for graduate loans; proponents said the bill does not request additional state funding and would be cost neutral within existing program allocations. Outcome: approved (out on AB roll call). Notes: testimony from Jessica Duong, University of California Office of the President; committee record states the program’s fixed budget (~$2,000,000 annually) and that bill provides packaging flexibility.

- AB 40 (presented on behalf of Bonta) — Clarifies that state law defining emergency services includes reproductive health services, including abortion, and that emergency care should not be withheld. Outcome: approved (out on AB roll call). Notes: proponents included the California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the California Pan Ethnic Health Network; the Department of Public Health estimated minor and absorbable costs.

- AB 454 (Colera) — California Migratory Bird Protection Act permanent extension. Removes sunset on the state-level Migratory Bird Protection Act adopted after the 2017 federal legal opinion on incidental take; Department of Fish and Wildlife reported minor, absorbable costs. Outcome: approved (out on AB roll call). Notes: testimony from Audubon California.

- AB 572 (Colera) — Family protections when an individual is killed or severely injured by a peace officer. Requires officers to identify themselves and tell family members a victim’s status before interrogation. Outcome: approved (out on AB roll call). Notes: broad testimony from impacted family members and advocacy groups; detailed coverage in a separate article.

- AB 639 (Soria) — Narrow exception to the statutory definition of dams to avoid unintended regulation of small weirs; sponsors said the change reduces certain fees and workload for the Division of Safety of Dams. Outcome: approved (out on AB roll call). Notes: support from Kings River Conservation District and Tulare Lake Water Storage District; no registered opposition.

The committee also read and approved a long suspense calendar of bills (the hearing secretary recited a numbered list of dozens of bills placed on suspense; the committee deemed the suspense calendar approved during the session). The hearing record shows the committee sought two absent authors during the suspense calendar before concluding those agenda steps.

What the committee said about votes and recordkeeping

On several measures the committee stated items were “out on a roll call” or “out on an AB roll call.” In multiple cases the chair noted that Republican members did not vote; a few members were recorded as voting no by name for some bills. The public hearing stream and committee remarks did not include a consistent numeric tally for each roll call in the excerpted hearing remarks, so specific yes/no tallies are not specified here.

What’s next

All bills that were advanced will be scheduled for further Assembly floor action or the next appropriate floor procedure. Committee staff repeatedly noted that written testimony is part of the public record and that members of the public could submit written comment via the committee website.