Bill Text: CA AB1711 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1711

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Energy: hydrogen: Clean Energy Equity Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1711 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1711-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 16, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1711

Introduced by Assembly Member Juan Carrillo

February 17, 2023

An act to add Section 43018.10 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1711, as amended, Juan Carrillo. Energy: ~~hydrogen.~~ hydrogen: Clean Energy Equity Act.

Existing law, until January 1, 2024, requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to allocate $20,000,000 annually, not to exceed 20% of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, to fund the number of stations identified by the state board until at least 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations are in operation in California.
This bill would enact the Clean Energy Equity Act and would require the commission to equitably allocate moneys appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of achieving an accessible statewide hydrogen-fueling network and expanding an existing hydrogen-fueling network, as necessary, to specifically prioritize rural communities and low-income communities. The bill would require the commission and the State Air Resources Board to jointly review and submit a report to the Legislature on the progress toward establishing a statewide hydrogen-fueling network that is equally accessible to all communities, especially rural communities and low-income communities.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake specified actions to advance the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including, where feasible, cost effective, and consistent with other state policy objectives, increasing the use of large- and small-scale energy storage with a variety of technologies, including green electrolytic hydrogen, as defined. Existing law requires the PUC, State Air Resources Board, and Energy Commission to consider green electrolytic hydrogen an eligible form of energy storage, and to consider other potential uses of green electrolytic hydrogen.
~~This bill would declare the Legislature’s intent to enact subsequent legislation relating to the furtherance of alternative energy related to hydrogen.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Clean Energy Equity Act.

SEC. 2.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Governor Jerry Brown, by Executive Order No. B-48-18, established goals of achieving 200 hydrogen-fueling stations statewide by 2025, and Governor Gavin Newsom, by Executive Order No. N-79-20, set increasingly aggressive zero-emission goals for greenhouse gases for California.
(2) To advance these goals, Chapter 401 of the Statutes of 2013 (AB 8) was enacted to establish a statewide hydrogen-fueling network to support fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) that provides coverage and capacity to hydrogen-fueled vehicles in the state.
(3) AB 8 provided for 10 years of investment and subsidies for hydrogen-fueling stations, however, these subsidies have primarily been awarded to large urban areas, leaving many rural regions and disadvantaged communities without access to this clean energy technology.
(4) The State Air Resources Board’s 2022 Annual Evaluation indicated that most of our state’s rural regions and disadvantaged communities do not have access to hydrogen refueling stations because stations are concentrated in the areas of the San Francisco Bay, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
(5) One such rural community, the City of Lancaster, has been a pioneer in embracing hydrogen power, setting bold and unprecedented clean energy and renewable hydrogen power goals. In 2019, the City of Lancaster became the first “net zero” energy city in the world and, in 2022, was recognized by the United States Department of Energy as an H2 mentor city as part of that department’s H2 Twin Cities 2022 initiative. The City of Lancaster is also the first H2 city in the United States.
(6) Despite having made significant strides in advancing clean energy and having been nationally and internationally recognized for its innovations, the City of Lancaster and the entire Antelope Valley region were excluded from the subsidies provided under AB 8.
(7) Hydrogen is a zero-carbon energy carrier that has the potential to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create highly skilled jobs of the future, and its adoption should not be limited to only the most populous areas of the state.
(8) The Public Utilities Commission, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the State Air Resources Board have a responsibility to promote the equitable distribution of clean energy technologies throughout the state and to identify and prioritize areas that lack access to these technologies.
(9) There are certain rural regions and disadvantaged areas of California, such as the City of Lancaster, that have demonstrated a commitment to advancing clean energy and are well-positioned to benefit from increased, equitable investment in renewable hydrogen infrastructure.
(b) In enacting this act, it is the intent of the Legislature to build on the progress made by AB 8 by directing the appropriate agencies, in their expenditure of the budgetary allocations for our state’s hydrogen refueling infrastructure, to prioritize the needs of rural regions and disadvantaged communities to ensure that all Californians have access to the benefits of hydrogen technology.

SEC. 3.

Section 43018.10 is added to the Health and Safety Code, immediately after Section 43108.9, to read:

43018.10.
(a) The commission shall equitably allocate moneys appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of achieving an accessible statewide hydrogen-fueling network and expanding an existing hydrogen-fueling network, as necessary, to specifically prioritize rural communities and low-income communities.
(b) (1) On or before January 1, 2025, the commission and the state board shall jointly review and submit a report to the Legislature in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code on the progress toward establishing a statewide hydrogen-fueling network that is equally accessible to all communities, especially rural communities and low-income communities.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10321.5 of the Government Code, the requirement to submit a report imposed by this subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2029.

SECTION 1.
~~It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation relating to the furtherance of alternative energy related to hydrogen.~~