Amended  IN  Assembly  May 25, 2018
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 17, 2018
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 02, 2018
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 15, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 1933

Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Mathis, McCarty, and Voepel)

January 24, 2018

An act to add and repeal Section 39719.3 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 42999 of the Public Resources Code, relating to greenhouse gases.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1933, as amended, Maienschein. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: recycling infrastructure projects.

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 requires the state board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in implementing the act. 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 makes a legislative declaration that it is the policy goal of the state that not less than 75% of solid waste generated be source reduced, recycled, or composted by 2020.

This bill would explicitly authorize up to $200,000,000 to be appropriated in the annual Budget Act, without regard to fiscal year, from the fund to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for organic waste recycling infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste recycling infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, with additional funds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that may be appropriated to the department, to administer a grant program to provide financial assistance, in the form of grants, incentive payments, contracts, or other funding mechanisms, to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases by promoting in-state development of infrastructure, food waste prevention, or other projects to reduce organic waste or to process organic and other recyclable materials into new value-added products. Existing law requires these funding mechanisms to be provided for in-state infrastructure projects or for other projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through activities that expand and improve waste diversion and recycling, including food waste prevention, among other things. Existing law specifies that eligible infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions include, but are not limited to, designing and constructing facilities for processing recyclable materials.
This bill would specify that activities that expand and improve waste diversion and recycling include food rescue, waste prevention, and organic waste recycling. The bill would additionally specify that eligible infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions include the expansion of facilities for processing recyclable materials and projects to improve the quality of recycled materials.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.Section 39719.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
39719.3.

(a)Up to two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) may be appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in the annual Budget Act, without regard to fiscal year, to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, to be allocated as follows:

(1)Up to one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) for organic waste recycling infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including, but not limited to, water treatment facilities, composting facilities, and facilities for the diversion of food waste.

(2)Up to one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) for solid waste recycling infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

(b)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.SECTION 1.

 Section 42999 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

42999.
 (a) Any additional funds appropriated by the Legislature from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, established pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code, to the department shall be used to administer a grant program to provide financial assistance to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases by promoting in-state development of infrastructure, food waste prevention, or other projects to reduce organic waste or process organic and other recyclable materials into new, value-added products. The moneys shall be expended consistent with the requirements of Article 9.7 (commencing with Section 16428.8) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code and Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 39710) of Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) From moneys appropriated for purposes of this section, the department shall provide grants, incentive payments, contracts, or other funding mechanisms to public and private entities for in-state infrastructure projects or other projects that reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases by any of the following:
(1) Organics composting.
(2) Organics in-vessel digestion.
(3) Recyclable material manufacturing.
(4) Activities that expand and improve waste diversion and recycling, including, but not limited to, food rescue, waste prevention, and organic waste recycling.
(c) For purposes of this section, eligible infrastructure projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Capital investments in new facilities and increased throughput at existing facilities for activities, such as converting windrow composting to aerated-static-pile composting to use food waste as feedstock.
(2) Designing and constructing organics in-vessel digestion facilities to produce products, such as biofuels, bioenergy, and soil amendments.
(3) Designing and constructing, or expanding, facilities for processing recyclable materials.
(4) Projects to improve the quality of recycled materials.
(d) In awarding a grant for organics composting or anaerobic digestion pursuant to this section, the department shall consider all of the following:
(1) The amount of greenhouse gas emissions reductions that may result from the project.
(2) The amount of organic material that may be diverted from landfills as a result of the project.
(3) If, and how, the project may benefit disadvantaged communities.
(4) For a grant awarded for an anaerobic digestion project, if, and how, the project maximizes resource recovery, including the production of clean energy or low-carbon or carbon negative transportation fuels.
(5) Project readiness and permitting that the project may require.
(6) Air and water quality benefits that the project may provide.
(e) To the degree that funds are available, the department may provide larger grant awards for large-scale regional integrated projects that provide cost-effective organic waste diversion and maximize environmental benefits.