Bill Text: CA AB1401 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1401

Bill Title: Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations: alternative diesel fuel regulations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1401 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1401-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 13, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1401

Introduced by Assembly Member Garcia

February 17, 2023

An act to ~~amend Section 44274 of~~ add Sections 38567.2 and 43013.4 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1401, as amended, Garcia. ~~Air Quality Improvement Program.~~ Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations: alternative diesel fuel regulations.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions to ensure that the statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030. Pursuant to the act, the state board has adopted the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations.
This bill would require the state board, in administering the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, to deem a Tier 2 pathway application certified under specified circumstances.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution the state board has found to be necessary, cost effective, and technologically feasible, to carry out specified purposes, unless preempted by federal law. Pursuant to this and other authority, the state board adopted regulations governing the commercialization of alternative diesel fuels.
This bill would require the state board to revise those regulations to authorize the sale, offer for sale, or supply of alternative diesel fuel for use in the state that contains up to 20% biodiesel by volume.
Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program for the purpose funding air quality improvement projects relating to fuel and vehicle technologies. Under existing law, the State Air Resources Board is required to administer the program and to provide preference in awarding funding to projects with higher benefit-cost scores that maximize the purposes and goals of the program. Existing law also authorizes the state board to give additional preference in funding awards to projects based on specified criteria including the ability of the project to promote the use of clean alternative fuels and vehicle technologies, as specified.
This bill would require the state board to give additional preference to a project based on its ability to promote the use of clean alternative fuels, biofuels, and vehicle technologies, as specified. The bill would also require the state board to include certain information relating to renewable fuels and biofuels in its biennial report to the Legislature on the program.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES 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) California law requires municipalities to divert 75 percent of organic waste, including food waste, from going to landfills by 2025. Meeting this target is a significant challenge for many municipalities that may not have sufficient access to food waste upcycling facilities, entities, or technologies.
(b) Various food wastes, including fats, grease, and oils, are ideal feedstocks in the production of alternative fuels, which are critical in significantly reducing the use of fossil fuels and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) for the foreseeable future as California shifts to a zero-emission economy in the coming decades.
(c) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code) creates a comprehensive, ongoing program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Pursuant to the act, the State Air Resources Board adopted the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations) and approved many alternative fuels as part of that regulation through numerous pathways, including for renewable diesel and biodiesel.
(d) There have been great strides in the development of technologies that produce alternative fuels and fuel blends that can provide significant GHG emission reductions as drop-in fuels for mobile transportation. For example, a blend of up to 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent renewable diesel (R80/B20) will reduce GHG emissions by 91 percent and criteria pollutants, such as NOx, by 10 percent, particulate matter by 40 percent, total hydrocarbons by more than 20 percent, and carbon monoxide (CO) by more than 25 percent.
(e) Approval of fuel pathways for oils, fats, and grease diverted from landfills, as well as alternative fuel blends, can supplant the use of fossil fuels, significantly assist municipalities with organic food waste diversion, provide less impact on combustion engines, provide greater quality alternative fuels supply, and offer cost benefits for consumers. Moreover, these blends significantly improve air quality immediately, and can prove essential in California’s disadvantaged or rural communities that will not benefit from zero-emission technology infrastructure in the near to medium terms.
(f) Alternative fuels and fuel blends can provide the benefits outlined in subdivision (e) as the state invests in zero-emission vehicle technologies and infrastructure that California’s future depends on. As such, it is imperative that the state board maintain and approve broad applications of alternative fuels, including blends such as biodiesel and renewable diesel to achieve immediate emission reductions and improve California’s air quality.

SEC. 2.

Section 38567.2 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

38567.2.
(a) For purposes of this section, “Low Carbon Fuel Standard” means the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations).
(b) In administering the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the state board deem a Tier 2 pathway application to be certified under either of the following circumstances:
(1) If the state board does not review the application and inform the applicant of its approval or denial within 15 business days of the receipt of the application.
(2) For a Tier 2 pathway application that was submitted before January 1, 2024, and has been pending review for more than 60 days as of January 1, 2024, if the state board does not review the application and inform the applicant of its approval or denial before January 15, 2024.

SEC. 3.

Section 43013.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

43013.4.
(a) For purposes of this section, “alternative diesel fuel regulations” means the regulations set forth in Subarticle 2 (commencing with Section 2293) of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations.
(b) The state board shall revise the alternative diesel fuel regulations to authorize the sale, offer for sale, or supply of alternative diesel fuel for use in the state that contains up to 20 percent biodiesel by volume.

SECTION 1.Section 44274 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
44274.
(a)The Air Quality Improvement Program is hereby created. The program shall be administered by the state board, in consultation with the districts. The state board shall develop guidelines to implement the program. Prior to the adoption of the guidelines, the state board shall hold at least one public hearing. In addition, the state board shall hold at least three public workshops with at least one workshop in northern California, one in the central valley, and one in southern California. The purpose of the program shall be to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, air quality improvement projects relating to fuel and vehicle technologies. The primary purpose of the program shall be to fund projects to reduce criteria air pollutants, improve air quality, and provide funding for research to determine and improve the air quality impacts of alternative transportation fuels and vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies.
(b)The state board shall provide preference in awarding funding to those projects with higher benefit-cost scores that maximize the purposes and goals of the Air Quality Improvement Program. The state board also may give additional preference based on the following criteria, as applicable, in funding awards to projects:
~~(1)Proposed or potential reduction of criteria or toxic air pollutants.~~
~~(2)Contribution to regional air quality improvement.~~
~~(3)Ability to promote the use of clean alternative fuels, biofuels, and vehicle technologies as determined by the state board, in coordination with the commission.~~
~~(4)Ability to achieve climate change benefits in addition to criteria pollutant or air toxic emissions reductions.~~
~~(5)Ability to support market transformation of California’s vehicle or equipment fleet to utilize low carbon or zero-emission technologies.~~
~~(6)Ability to leverage private capital investments.~~
(c)The program shall be limited to competitive grants, revolving loans, loan guarantees, loans, and other appropriate funding measures that further the purposes of the program. Projects to be funded shall include only the following:
~~(1)On-road and off-road equipment projects that are cost effective.~~
~~(2)Projects that provide mitigation for off-road gasoline exhaust and evaporative emissions.~~
(3)Projects that provide research to determine the air quality impacts of alternative fuels and projects that study the life-cycle impacts of alternative fuels and conventional fuels, the emissions of biofuel and advanced reformulated gasoline blends, and air pollution improvements and control technologies for use with alternative fuels and vehicles.
(4)Projects that augment the University of California’s agricultural experiment station and cooperative extension programs for research to increase sustainable biofuels production and improve the collection of biomass feedstock.
~~(5)Incentives for small off-road equipment replacement to encourage consumers to replace internal combustion engine lawn and garden equipment.~~
~~(6)Incentives for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and equipment mitigation, including all of the following:~~
~~(A)Lower emission schoolbus programs.~~
~~(B)Electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid on-road and off-road medium- and heavy-duty equipment.~~
~~(C)Regional air quality improvement and attainment programs implemented by the state or districts in the most impacted regions of the state.~~
(7)Workforce training initiatives related to advanced energy technology designed to reduce air pollution, including state-of-the-art equipment and goods, and new processes and systems. Workforce training initiatives funded shall be broad-based partnerships that leverage other public and private job training programs and resources. These partnerships may include, though are not limited to, employers, labor unions, labor-management partnerships, community organizations, workforce investment boards, postsecondary education providers including community colleges, and economic development agencies.
~~(8)Incentives to identify and reduce emissions from high-emitting light-duty vehicles.~~
(d)(1)Beginning January 1, 2011, the state board shall submit to the Legislature a biennial report to evaluate the implementation of the Air Quality Improvement Program established pursuant to this chapter.
~~(2)The report shall include all of the following:~~
~~(A)A list of projects funded by the Air Quality Improvement Account.~~
~~(B)The expected benefits of the projects in promoting clean, sustainable alternative fuels, including renewable fuels and biofuels, and vehicle technologies.~~
~~(C)Improvement in air quality and public health, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and the progress made toward achieving these benefits.~~
~~(D)The impact of the projects in making progress toward attainment of state and federal air quality standards.~~
~~(E)Recommendations for future actions.~~
(3)The state board may include the information required to be reported pursuant to paragraph (1) in an existing report to the Legislature as the state board deems appropriate. The state board may also include in an existing report the description of how grant, loan, voucher, or other incentive projects that receive moneys from the Air Quality Improvement Fund are implementing the labor standards required by Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 39680) of Part 2, as applicable.
(e)Projects using grants, loans, vouchers, or other incentives funded in part or whole by the Air Quality Improvement Fund shall be conditioned on the requirements of Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 39680) of Part 2, as applicable.