42999.2.
(a) The department shall administer, until January 1, 2025, a woody biomass rural county collection and disposal pilot program consisting of awarding funding to rural counties for the purpose of conducting community collection days at which individuals can dispose of woody biomass free of charge.(b) A rural county may apply to the department for funding to conduct community collection days pursuant to the program. If a rural county is awarded funding under the program, it shall contract with a local biomass conversion facility to collect and dispose of biomass disposed of at community collection days in a way that results in fewer greenhouse gases emitted than if the biomass had been disposed of otherwise.
(c) Woody biomass shall be the focus of community collection days, however all biomass shall be accepted for disposal. A participating rural county shall not charge or pass on any costs to an individual that disposes of biomass, including woody biomass, at a community collection day.
(d) (1) The department shall use the ten million dollars ($10,000,000) appropriated for purposes of the program to award funding under the program. When awarding funding, the department shall ensure that funding is available for each of the five years of the program.
(2) The department may use up to 5 percent of the program moneys for administration of the program, including fulfilling the reporting requirement pursuant to subdivision (e).
(e) The
department shall, by March 1, 2025, report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code all of the following program information:
(1) The number of rural counties awarded funding.
(2) The amount of funding awarded to each participating rural county.
(3) The amount of biomass disposed of at community collection days.
(f) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Biomass” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 25143.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) “Participating rural county” means a rural county that has been
awarded funding under the program by the department.
(3) “Rural county” means a county with a total population of less than 250,000.
(g) This section shall become inoperative on March 1, 2029, and, as of January 1, 2030, is repealed.