SB 27 (Simitian) Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Emergency Preparedness Act. This bill (as amended 8/19/08) requires the Office of Emergency Services to create an Interagency Multi-Hazard Coordination Task Force for the Delta, upon receipt of funding, and designates Task Force membership to include the Office of Emergency Services, Delta Protection Commission, California Department of Water Resources, and a single representative from each of the five Delta counties. SB 27 requires the Task Force to make recommendations on creation of an interagency unified command system and to draft emergency preparedness and response strategy for the Delta Region with required submission to the Governor and the Legislature not later than January 1, 2011.

AB 109 (Nunez) was chaptered on 9/26/08. The bill requires the Energy Commission to implement the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, and specifies that funding is to be spent on programs other than renewable diesel or biodiesel related programs. The program is prohibited from funding projects designed primarily to ensure compliance with state or federal statutes, in order to help direct funding to truly novel and alternative fuel technology research. Funding is to be awarded through a competitive process and identification of relevant federal funding sources is encouraged.

SB1660 (Romero) was chaptered on 9/25/08. This bill is intended to address the perennial shortage of fully prepared single-subject math and science teachers by authorizing districts to offer extra pay to science and math teachers. The bill authorizes the use of up to 20% of specified categorical education program funds and general program purposes funds received by the district from the state. Schools ranked in the bottom three deciles on the Academic Performance Index are considered to be priorities for the allocation of funds and resources. The use of incentives to encourage recruitment of math and science teachers in high-need areas was a recommendation of CCST's 2002 Critical Path Analysis.

SB890 (Scott) was chaptered on 9/28/08, and will provide fee waivers under the fee waiver program of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for 2 or more years of enrollment at a California community college for pupils who make a commitment to prepare for college, finish high school, and enroll in college. To qualify for the waiver, pupils must commit, among other things, to meet all graduation requirements, take college preparatory coursework, complete and file a free application for federal student aid, and submit his or her grade point average to the Student Aid Commission by March 2 of his or her senior year.