BILL NUMBER: AB 21 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Perea
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Daly )
DECEMBER 1, 2014
An act to amend Sections 38501, 38551,
38501 and 38561 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
greenhouse gases.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 21, as amended, Perea. California Global Warming Solutions Act
of 2006: emissions limit: scoping plan.
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 a statewide greenhouse gas
emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020, equivalent to
the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990. The
act requires the state board to make recommendations to the Governor
and the Legislature on how to continue the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions beyond 2020.
The act also requires the state board to prepare and approve a
scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
This bill would require the state board, no later than January 1,
2018, to recommend to the Governor and the Legislature a specific
target of statewide emissions reductions for 2030 to be accomplished
in a cost-effective manner.
This bill would require the state board in preparing its scoping
plan to consult with specified state agencies regarding matters
involving energy efficiency and the facilitation of the
electrification of the transportation sector.
This bill also would make various findings and declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 38501 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
38501. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Global warming poses a serious threat to the economic
well-being, public health, natural resources, and the environment of
California. The potential adverse impacts of global warming include
the exacerbation of air quality problems, a reduction in the quality
and supply of water to the state from the Sierra snowpack, a rise in
sea levels resulting in the displacement of thousands of coastal
businesses and residences, damage to marine ecosystems and the
natural environment, and an increase in the incidences of infectious
diseases, asthma, and other human health-related problems.
(b) Global warming will have detrimental effects on some of
California's largest industries, including agriculture, wine,
tourism, skiing, recreational and commercial fishing, and forestry.
It will also increase the strain on electricity supplies necessary to
meet the demand for summer air-conditioning in the hottest parts of
the state.
(c) California has long been a national and international leader
on energy conservation and environmental stewardship efforts,
including the areas of air quality protections, energy efficiency
requirements, renewable energy standards, natural resource
conservation, and greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger
vehicles. The program established by this division will continue this
tradition of environmental leadership by placing California at the
forefront of national and international efforts to reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases.
(d) National and international actions are necessary to fully
address the issue of global warming. However, action taken by
California to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases will have
far-reaching effects by encouraging other states, the federal
government, and other countries to act.
(e) By exercising a global leadership role, California will also
position its economy, technology centers, financial institutions, and
businesses to benefit from national and international efforts to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. More importantly, investing in
the development of innovative and pioneering technologies will assist
California in achieving the 2020 statewide limit on emissions of
greenhouse gases established by this division and will provide an
opportunity for the state to take a global economic and technological
leadership role in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
(f) Having made significant strides between 2006 and 2014 in
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, California continues to
demonstrate and exercise national and global leadership by
establishing a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit for 2030.
(g)
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State
Air Resources Board coordinate with state agencies, as well as
consult with the environmental justice community, industry sectors,
business groups, academic institutions, environmental organizations,
and other stakeholders, in implementing this division.
(h)
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State
Air Resources Board consult with the Public Utilities Commission in
the development of emissions reduction measures, including limits on
emissions of greenhouse gases applied to electricity and natural gas
providers regulated by the Public Utilities Commission in order to
ensure that electricity and natural gas providers are not required to
meet duplicative or inconsistent regulatory requirements.
(i)
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State
Air Resources Board design emissions reduction measures to meet the
statewide emissions limits for greenhouse gases established pursuant
to this division in a manner that cleans the environment in ways that
are affordable cost effective for
California residents, minimizes costs and maximizes benefits for
California's economy, improves and modernizes California's energy
infrastructure and maintains electric system reliability, maximizes
additional environmental and economic co-benefits for California, and
complements the state's efforts to improve air quality.
(j)
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
Climate Action Team established by the Governor to coordinate the
efforts set forth under Executive Order S-3-05 continue its role in
coordinating overall climate policy.
SEC. 2. Section 38551 of the Health and Safety
Code is amended to read:
38551. (a) The statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit for 2020
shall remain in effect unless otherwise amended or repealed.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the statewide
greenhouse gas emissions limit for 2020 continue in existence and be
used to maintain and continue reductions in emissions of greenhouse
gases beyond 2020.
(c) (1) The state board shall make recommendations to the Governor
and the Legislature on how to continue further reductions of
greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020.
(2) No later than January 1, 2018, the state board shall recommend
to the Governor and the Legislature a specific target of statewide
emissions reductions for 2030 to be accomplished in a cost-effective
manner consistent with paragraph (1).
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. Section 38561 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
38561. (a) (1) On or before January 1, 2009, the state board
shall prepare and approve a scoping plan, as that term is understood
by the state board, for achieving the maximum technologically
feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
from sources or categories of sources of greenhouse gases by 2020
under this division.
(2) The state board shall consult with all state agencies with
jurisdiction over sources of greenhouse gases, including the Public
Utilities Commission and the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, in developing all elements of its plan that
pertain to energy-related matters including, but not limited to,
electrical generation, energy efficiency, load based-standards or
requirements, the provision of reliable and affordable electrical
service, petroleum refining, the facilitation of the electrification
of the transportation sector, and statewide fuel supplies to ensure
the greenhouse gas emissions reduction activities to be adopted and
implemented by the state board are complementary, nonduplicative, and
can be implemented in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
(b) The plan shall identify and make recommendations on direct
emissions reduction measures, alternative compliance mechanisms,
market-based compliance mechanisms, and potential monetary and
nonmonetary incentives for sources and categories of sources that the
state board finds are necessary or desirable to facilitate the
achievement of the maximum feasible and cost-effective reductions of
greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
(c) In making the determinations required by subdivision (b), the
state board shall consider all relevant information pertaining to
greenhouse gas emissions reduction programs in other states,
localities, and nations, including the northeastern states of the
United States, Canada, and the European Union.
(d) The state board shall evaluate the total potential costs and
total potential economic and noneconomic benefits of the plan for
reducing greenhouse gases to California's economy, environment, and
public health, using the best available economic models, emission
estimation techniques, and other scientific methods.
(e) In developing its plan, the state board shall take into
account the relative contribution of each source or source category
to statewide greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential for adverse
effects on small businesses, and shall recommend a de minimis
threshold of greenhouse gas emissions below which emissions reduction
requirements will not apply.
(f) In developing its plan, the state board shall identify
opportunities for emissions reduction measures from all verifiable
and enforceable voluntary actions, including, but not limited to,
carbon sequestration projects and best management practices.
(g) The state board shall conduct a series of public workshops to
give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan. The
state board shall conduct a portion of these workshops in regions of
the state that have the most significant exposure to air pollutants,
including, but not limited to, communities with minority populations,
communities with low-income populations, or both.
(h) The state board shall update its plan for achieving the
maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions of
greenhouse gas emissions at least once every five years.