Amended  IN  Assembly  April 06, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2722

Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson

February 18, 2022

An act to add Section 39735 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2722, as amended, Grayson. Greenhouse gases: work-from-home option.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming to reduce those emissions of greenhouse gases.
This bill bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the state board to annually prepare a report quantifying the actual reduction in assess the emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from work-from-home options offered by employers of the state and compare that with the actual reduction in the state’s overall emissions of greenhouse gases for the same year. The bill would require that the research include specified minimum parameters, make specified recommendations based upon the research, and be posted on the state board’s internet website no later than 4 years after the appropriation for the research.
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) An analysis performed by Energy Innovation reported in “Insights From the California Energy Policy Simulator: On the state’s current greenhouse gas emission trajectory and six policy opportunities for deepening emission reductions,” issued in January of 2020, found that under various scenarios the projected 2030 emission levels will result in a “2030 emission gap, which ranges from 15 [to] 45 [million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent]” above the 2030 target set pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, with a current trajectory scenario resulting in “emissions approximately 25 [million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent] above the 2030 target.”
(b) One-half of California’s greenhouse gases emissions are related to the transportation sector.
(c) The Governor’s 2022–23 Budget proposal eliminates state office space and increases work-from-home personnel to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by reducing commutes.
(d) Private employers are anticipating a permanent reduction in workforce commutes through an increase in both full and partial work-from-home options.
(e) Policymakers at all levels of state and local government would benefit from knowing how policies related to work-from-home options might contribute to achieving greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
(f) While longer term goals and future projections are critical tools in the formulation of policy, an annual accounting of actual reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases, measured in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, will inspire additional practical policies that will make both large and small contributions to reaching California’s adopted climate goals.

SEC. 2.

 Section 39735 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

39735.
 (a) The Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the state board board, through a research contract, shall annually prepare a report quantifying the actual reduction in assess the emissions of greenhouse gases, measured in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, resulting from work-from-home options offered by employers in the state.
(b) The report research shall compare the actual emissions reduction from work-from-home options employees working from home to the actual reduction in the state’s overall emissions of greenhouse gases, measured in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, for the same year.
(c) To quantify emissions associated with work-from-home options, the research shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases from all transportation.
(2) The energy consumption of office buildings and home offices.
(3) Internet and communication technologies used for work-from-home options.
(4) Changes in long-term consumer choices on home or work location and vehicle purchases.
(d) The research shall be disaggregated by sociodemographic characteristics, including income, gender, race, and ethnicity.
(e) The following recommendations shall be made based upon the research:
(1) How employees and employers can estimate the greenhouse gas emission impacts of work-from-home options.
(2) A methodology to estimate emission impacts at the regional scale, including data sources and guidance for monitoring and tracking work-from-home implementation.
(3) How the benefits of work-from-home options can be promoted equitably.

(c)

(f) The report research and recommendations shall not contain projections or goals for reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.
(g) The research shall be posted on the state board’s internet website no later than four years after an appropriation has been made for purposes of this section.