CA AB 531

enacted

Geothermal powerplants and projects: certification and environmental review.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Description

Existing law establishes and vests in the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) various responsibilities with respect to developing and implementing the state's energy policies. Existing law authorizes persons proposing specified electrical generation, electrical transmission, hydrogen production, and energy storage projects to apply, on or before June 30, 2029, to the Energy Commission to certify sites and related facilities as environmental leadership development projects, as specified. Existing law makes a site and related facility certified by the Energy Commission subject to streamlining benefits related to CEQA with no further action by the applicant or the Governor. Under existing law, the Energy Commission's certification is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any governmental agency and supersedes any applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation, except as specified. This bill would expand the types of facilities eligible to be certified as environmental leadership development projects by the Energy Commission to include geothermal powerplants and projects that comprise multiple geothermal powerplants on a single site. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 25545 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 254 to be operative only if this bill and SB 254 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Introduced: 2025-07-03
Status date: —
Latest action: 2025-10-06 — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 372, Statutes of 2025.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-02-11
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2025-02-12
From printer. May be heard in committee March 14.
2025-03-03
Referred to Coms. on U. & E. and NAT. RES.
referral-committee
2025-04-03
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (April 2). Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-22
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-05-14
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (May 23).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-02
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 1835.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-03
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2025-06-11
Referred to Coms. on E., U & C. and E.Q.
referral-committee
2025-07-03
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on E.Q. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (July 1).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2025-07-07
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-07-16
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (July 16). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-08-18
In committee: Referred to suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-08-29
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (August 29).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-08-29
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-05
Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-08
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-11
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 37. Noes 1. Page 2888.).
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-12
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2025-09-12
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 69. Noes 4. Page 3433.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-24
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-06
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-06
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 372, Statutes of 2025.
became-law

Versions

02/11/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-11Compare
07/07/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-07-07Compare
09/05/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-09-05Compare
09/16/25 - Enrolled — 2025-09-16Compare
10/06/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-06Compare
AB531Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Natural Resources] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-04-02 · pass · 18-0
Member-level votes (18)
- Davies: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Ta: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Chen: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Papan: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Hart: yes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-04-21 · pass · 14-0
Member-level votes (14)
- Alanis: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Flora: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Haney: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Schultz: yes
Do pass.
2025-05-23 · pass · 13-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Hart: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Solache: yes
- Ta: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Sanchez: other
- Tangipa: other
AB 531 Rogers Assembly Third Reading
2025-06-02 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (79)
- Rivas: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ward: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Patel: yes
- Solache: yes
- Chen: yes
- Bonta: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Lee: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Papan: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Davies: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Berman: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Soria: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ta: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Flora: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Addis: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Fong: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Bains: yes
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Environmental Quality]
2025-07-01 · pass · 16-0
Member-level votes (17)
- Hurtado: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Grove: yes
- Allen: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Becker: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Stern: yes
- Limón: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Dahle: other
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-07-16 · pass · 6-1
Member-level votes (8)
- Hurtado: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Dahle: no
- Valladares: other
Placed on suspense file
2025-08-18 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Richardson: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Grayson: yes
Do pass
2025-08-29 · pass · 6-1
Member-level votes (7)
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Dahle: no
3rd Reading AB531 Rogers et al. By Becker
2025-09-11 · pass · 37-1
Member-level votes (40)
- Umberg: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Jones: yes
- Reyes: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Allen: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Limón: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Niello: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Choi: yes
- Laird: yes
- Stern: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Grove: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Becker: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Dahle: no
- Valladares: other
- Alvarado-Gil: other
AB 531 Rogers Concurrence in Senate Amendments
2025-09-13 · pass · 69-4
Member-level votes (80)
- Ahrens: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Addis: yes
- Ward: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Bains: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Soria: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Berman: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Papan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Lee: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ta: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Davies: yes
- Zbur: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Gallagher: no
- Dixon: no
- Wallis: no
- Hadwick: no
- Tangipa: other
- Lackey: other
- Aguiar-Curry: other
- McKinnor: other
- Chen: other
- Alanis: other
- Flora: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB531

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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