Bill Text: CA AB1717 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB1717 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1717-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1717 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hadley
JANUARY 27, 2016
An act to amend Section 44270.3 39719
of the Health and Safety Code, relating to vehicular
air pollution. greenhouse gases, and making an
appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1717, as amended, Hadley. California Alternative and
Renewable Fuel, Vehicle Technology, Clean Air, and Carbon Reduction
Act of 2007. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the
State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with
monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases.
The act authorizes the state board to include use of market-based
compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for
fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a
market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing
law continuously appropriates 60% of the annual proceeds of the fund
for various purposes, including 10% for the Transit and Intercity
Rail Capital Program administered by the Transportation Agency and
25% for certain components of the initial operating segment and Phase
I Blended System of the high-speed rail project as described in the
2012 business plan adopted by the High-Speed Rail Authority.
This bill would reappropriate the 25% share of the annual proceeds
of the fund designated for the high-speed rail project to the
Transportation Agency for the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital
Program under specified conditions. The bill would make legislative
findings and declarations.
Existing law establishes the California Alternative and Renewable
Fuel, Vehicle Technology, Clean Air, and Carbon Reduction Act of
2007, which includes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program. Existing
law defines specified terms for purposes of the act.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those definitions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: no yes .
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) According to the American Lung Association's 2015 State of the
Air report, "Southern California remains home to some of the most
polluted air in the United States. Emissions from the transportation
sector are the leading source of pollution in the region, bringing
significant lung health burdens."
(b) Senate Bill No. 535 (Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012) requires
that 25 percent of funds generated by the state's cap-and-trade
program must benefit disadvantaged communities. Disadvantaged
communities include "areas disproportionately affected by
environmental pollution" and "areas with concentrations of people
that are of low income, high unemployment, low levels of
homeownership, high rent burden, sensitive populations, or low levels
of educational attainment."
(c) More than 50 percent of the most disadvantaged census tracts
identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency are
located in southern California.
(d) Less than 5 percent of disadvantaged census tracts are located
in the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties.
(e) Senate Bill No. 862 (Chapter 36, Statutes of 2014)
continuously appropriates 25 percent of cap-and-trade funds for the
high-speed rail program. Prior to obtaining this funding, the
High-Speed Rail Authority committed in a June 14, 2014, letter to
Senator Fran Pavley "to accelerate reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG) and put new emphasis on improvements in urban areas
utilizing the funding that would be provided through the ongoing
commitment of cap and trade proceeds, as contained in Senate Bill
(SB) 862.... At the same time, with cap and trade funds we would
accelerate work on the segment from Burbank to Palmdale, so that we
would be building the initial operating segment from two directions,
north to south, and south to north. The Burbank-Palmdale segment,
which potentially could become an operating segment on its own, would
accelerate benefits to the Los Angeles region."
(f) The High-Speed Rail Authority further committed to this
approach through adoption of Board Resolution #14-19 declaring "The
Authority Board concurs with the priority to move forward with the
approach outlined in the CEO's letter to State Senator Fran Pavley,
including the prioritization of the Palmdale to Burbank project
section for expenditure of cap and trade proceeds as they become
available and in accordance with provisions of the law."
(g) The Legislature approved cap-and-trade funds for high-speed
rail only for purposes consistent with this commitment. SB 862
establishes that the first operating high-speed rail segment must
reach southern California, "as described in the 2012 business plan."
(h) SB 862 specifies that any subsequent decision by the
High-Speed Rail Authority to deprioritize southern California and
direct construction funding for an alternative route would not be
eligible for funding.
(i) SB 862 requires that any redirection of cap-and-trade
investments away from some of the state's most disadvantaged
communities in southern California would require reauthorization by
the Legislature.
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish conditions
for use of any cap-and-trade funds voluntarily forfeited by the
High-Speed Rail Authority. Nothing in this act shall be interpreted
to alter or in any way affect the conditions of funding eligibility
established by SB 862.
SEC. 2. Section 39719 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
39719. (a) The Legislature shall appropriate the annual proceeds
of the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in
this state in accordance with the requirements of Section 39712.
(b) To carry out a portion of the requirements of subdivision (a),
annual proceeds are continuously appropriated for the following:
(1) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, 35 percent of annual proceeds
are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, for
transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities programs as
following:
(A) Ten percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency for the
Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2
(commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public
Resources Code.
(B) Five percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Low Carbon Transit Operations
Program created by Part 3 (commencing with Section 75230) of Division
44 of the Public Resources Code. Funds shall be allocated by the
Controller, according to requirements of the program, and pursuant to
the distribution formula in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 99312
of, and Sections 99313 and 99314 of, the Public Utilities Code.
(C) Twenty percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Strategic Growth Council for the
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program created by
Part 1 (commencing with Section 75200) of Division 44 of the Public
Resources Code. Of the amount appropriated in this subparagraph, no
less than 10 percent of the annual proceeds, shall be expended for
affordable housing, consistent with the provisions of that program.
(2) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, notwithstanding Section
13340 of the Government Code, 25 percent of the annual proceeds of
the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the High-Speed Rail
Authority for the following components of the initial operating
segment and Phase I Blended System as described in the 2012 business
plan adopted pursuant to Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code:
(A) Acquisition and construction costs of the project.
(B) Environmental review and design costs of the project.
(C) Other capital costs of the project.
(D) Repayment of any loans made to the authority to fund the
project.
(c) If the high-speed rail project becomes ineligible for funding
under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) due to selection by the
High-Speed Rail Authority of an alternative initial operating segment
that is not as described in the authority's 2012 business plan, the
proceeds in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall instead be
continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency for the
Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2
(commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public
Resources Code.
(c)
(d) In determining the amount of annual proceeds of the
fund for purposes of the calculation in subdivision (b), the funds
subject to Section 39719.1 shall not be included.
SECTION 1. Section 44270.3 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
44270.3. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Benefit-cost score," for the Alternative and Renewable Fuel
and Vehicle Technology Program created pursuant to Section 44272,
means a project's expected or potential greenhouse gas emissions
reduction per dollar awarded by the commission to the project from
the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund.
(b) "Commission" means the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission.
(c) "Full fuel-cycle assessment" or "life-cycle assessment" means
evaluating and comparing the full environmental and health impacts of
each step in the life cycle of a fuel, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(1) Feedstock production, extraction, cultivation, transport, and
storage, and the transportation and use of water and changes in land
use and land cover therein.
(2) Fuel production, manufacture, distribution, marketing,
transport, and storage, and the transportation and use of water
therein.
(3) Vehicle operation, including refueling, combustion,
conversion, permeation, and evaporation.
(d) "Vehicle technology" means any vehicle, boat, off-road
equipment, or locomotive, or component thereof, including its engine,
propulsion system, transmission, or construction materials.
(e) For purposes of the Air Quality Improvement Program created
pursuant to Section 44274, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) "Benefit-cost score" means the reasonably expected or
potential criteria pollutant emission reductions achieved per dollar
awarded by the state board for the project.
(2) "Project" means a category of investments identified for
potential funding by the state board, including, but not limited to,
competitive grants, revolving loans, loan guarantees, loans,
vouchers, rebates, and other appropriate funding measures for
specific vehicles, equipment, technologies, or initiatives authorized
by Section 44274.
