California 20252026 Regular Session Status: Introduced 1 D cosponsors

SB 1081 — Waste discharge requirements: minimum penalties: exception: publicly owned treatment works.

Last action — May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Stalled 28% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (act) and the national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program. The act requires mandatory minimum penalties to be assessed for serious violations, as defined, relating to waste discharge requirements, and for certain violations relating to waste discharge requirements and reports whenever there are 4 or more violations in a period of 6 consecutive months, except as provided. The act authorizes the state board or regional board, in lieu of assessing all or a portion of those mandatory minimum penalties against a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community, to instead require the publicly owned treatment works to spend an equivalent amount towards the completion of a compliance project proposed by the publicly owned treatment works if the state board or regional board make specified findings. The act defines "a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community" for these purposes to mean a publicly owned treatment works serving a population of 20,000 persons or fewer or a rural county, with a financial hardship as determined by the state board after consideration of specified factors. This bill would expand the authorization for the state board or regional board to require funding of a compliance project in lieu of the otherwise mandatory penalty to apply to a publicly owned treatment works serving a population of 3,000 persons or fewer, with a financial hardship, determined by the state board, within the 10 years preceding the assessment of the penalty.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  2. Set for hearing May 14.

  3. April 27 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  4. Set for hearing April 27.

  5. April 20 hearing postponed by committee.

  6. Set for hearing April 20.

  7. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  8. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 3792.) (April 8).

  9. Set for hearing April 8.

  10. Referred to Com. on E.Q.

  11. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 16.

  12. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar

Passed 6 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Republican 1001
Total 6001
% of votes cast 86%0%0%14%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Blakespear, Catherine S. Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Menjivar, Caroline Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

environment
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 1081 do?
Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (act) and the national pollutant discharge elimination system permit program. The act requires mandatory minimum penalties to be assessed for serious violations, as defined, relating to waste discharge requirements, and for certain violations relating to waste discharge requirements and reports whenever there are 4 or more violations in a period of 6 consecutive months, except as provided. The act authorizes the state board or regional board, in lieu of assessing all or a portion of those mandatory minimum penalties against a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community, to instead require the publicly owned treatment works to spend an equivalent amount towards the completion of a compliance project proposed by the publicly owned treatment works if the state board or regional board make specified findings. The act defines "a publicly owned treatment works serving a small community" for these purposes to mean a publicly owned treatment works serving a population of 20,000 persons or fewer or a rural county, with a financial hardship as determined by the state board after consideration of specified factors. This bill would expand the authorization for the state board or regional board to require funding of a compliance project in lieu of the otherwise mandatory penalty to apply to a publicly owned treatment works serving a population of 3,000 persons or fewer, with a financial hardship, determined by the state board, within the 10 years preceding the assessment of the penalty.
Who sponsors SB 1081?
SB 1081 is sponsored by Laird, John (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 1081?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 1081?
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