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SB 556

Relating to: providing utility aid payments for certain energy storage facilities. (FE)

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Dan Feyen and 4 co-sponsors

Allocates $21.5 million (contingent on appropriation) to the Wildlife Conservation Board to acquire floodplain lands and restore habitats in Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties.

Published 4-3-2026
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 556

Note: the documents you provided mostly contain text for a California bill (SB 556, Hurtado) that would allocate funds for floodplain acquisition and habitat restoration in Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties. The Bill Information at top (title about “utility aid payments for certain energy storage facilities”) does not match the provided texts. Below is a clear summary of the bill reflected in the documents (California SB 556 — Habitat enhancement and restoration: floodplains). If you intended the energy-storage bill, please upload or paste its text and I will summarize that instead.

SB 556 (Hurtado) — Summary (as reflected in provided documents)

Purpose and intent

To direct, upon legislative appropriation, $21,500,000 to the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) for acquisition and restoration of floodplain lands and related conservation projects on floodplains located in Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties. The bill also declares that a special statute is necessary for those counties given unique flooding and groundwater-depletion conditions.

Key provisions

  • Adds Section 1350.5 to the Fish and Game Code.
    • “Upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute,” $21,500,000 shall be allocated to the Wildlife Conservation Board for:
    • Floodplain acquisition,
    • Habitat restoration, and
    • Associated conservation projects on floodplains in Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties.
  • Legislative findings (Section 2) state a special statute is necessary under Section 16, Article IV of the California Constitution because of unique uncontrolled flooding and groundwater depletion at waterways in those counties.

Who is affected / potential impacts

  • Wildlife Conservation Board: administrator and grant/implementation authority for projects funded under this section.
  • Local landscapes and ecosystems in Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties: potential land acquisitions, habitat restoration, floodplain reconnection, groundwater recharge improvements, and habitat enhancement for native species.
  • Landowners and local governments: potential sellers/partners for acquisitions, participants in restoration projects, or recipients of project benefits (flood risk reduction, improved groundwater recharge).
  • Agricultural and water management stakeholders: may be affected where floodplain projects interact with irrigation, flood control infrastructure, or groundwater recharge operations.
  • Fiscal impact: contingent — funds are not automatically provided; the allocation occurs only if the Legislature appropriates $21.5 million in the Budget Act or another statute.

Fiscal and procedural notes

  • Specific appropriation amount: $21,500,000 (one-time allocation contingent on appropriation).
  • The digest marks a fiscal committee referral; the bill’s operation depends on a separate appropriation action.
  • Procedural history in documents: introduced Feb 20, 2025; considered in Senate Natural Resources & Water and Senate Appropriations; later actions list committee referrals and hearings in Assembly committees (Water, Parks & Wildlife and Assembly Appropriations). As of the most recent documents, the measure had been amended and moved through committee hearings and been placed on the Appropriations suspense file at times (dates in documents: hearings and committee actions between Apr–Aug 2025).

Limitations / unanswered questions

  • The bill does not specify selection criteria, project timelines, match requirements, or detailed implementation rules — these details would be set by the WCB under its existing authorities and any implementing guidance or appropriations language.
  • Funding is contingent on a separate legislative appropriation; absent that appropriation SB 556 imposes no automatic spending.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a one-page brief focused on likely environmental and fiscal impacts for the three counties.
- Summarize or reconcile the other SB 556 texts from different states found in your “Version Content.”
- Summarize the “utility aid payments for certain energy storage facilities” bill if you provide its text.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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