Bill Text: CA SB682 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Low-carbon cement and low-carbon concrete.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB682 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB682-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  March 30, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 682

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Introduced by Senator Skinner

February 16, 2023

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An act to add Section 38561.4 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 682, as amended, Skinner. Low-carbon cement and concrete.

Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to develop a comprehensive strategy for the state’s cement sector to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases associated with cement used in the state as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2045.

This bill would set a policy for the state for state agencies to purchase or specify specify, on a statewide basis, at least 10%, by volume, of cement and concrete, including supplementary cementitious materials, that meet a certain benchmark by 2030 and to exclude the purchase of fossil-based supplementary cementitious materials by 2035. The bill would require, by March 31, 2024, the Transportation Agency, the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of General Services, the Department of Water Resources, and other state agencies, in collaboration with the State Air Resources Board, to develop and enter into a model advance procurement agreements agreement for the purchase or specification of low-carbon cement and low-carbon concrete products up to 10 years in advance that would facilitate the development of production of concrete, cement, and supplementary cementitious materials that meet or exceed the benchmark for low-carbon cement and concrete, as provided. concrete and, would, in meeting the goals described above, authorize state agencies to use the model agreement for the purchase or specification of low-carbon cement and low-carbon concrete products.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) California is an international climate change leader, and has established a wide array of programs that serve as models for other jurisdictions and has created new, successful markets for a wide array of clean technologies, including renewable energy, zero-emission vehicles, and low-carbon and renewable fuels.

(b) California can, and should, display similar leadership to decarbonize other hard-to-abate sectors, including cement and concrete.

(c) Public agencies are the largest purchasers and users of cement and concrete in California. About 40 percent of all cement and concrete in California goes into roads and sidewalks, alone.

(d) To achieve deep greenhouse gas emissions reductions in cement and concrete, new advanced technologies are needed. Advance procurement agreements that seek to accelerate the development and deployment of low-carbon materials by demonstrating market demand well in advance are an important tool for scaling the production and use of next-generation, low-carbon cement and concrete.

(e) Pursuant to Section 38561.2 of the Health and Safety Code, the state board will develop a comprehensive strategy for the state’s cement sector to achieve 40 percent reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases below a 2019 baseline by 2035 and net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases as soon as possible, but no later than 2045. Among other items, the strategy will include an evaluation of measures to support market demand and financial incentives to encourage the production and use of cement with low greenhouse gas intensity, including measures taken by the Department of Transportation and other state agencies.

(f) Executive Order No. N-19-19 does both of the following:

(1) Directs the Transportation Agency to leverage more than five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000) in annual state transportation spending for construction, operations, and maintenance to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

(2) Directs the Department of General Services to manage ownership and operation of state buildings to minimize state government’s carbon footprint and to develop and implement sustainable purchasing policies across state agencies that prioritize the purchase of environmentally preferable goods and materials, consistent with state climate policies.

(g) At the 26th Conference of Parties United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, California announced an initiative with the Pacific Coast Collaborative regarding low-carbon construction, with the goals of accelerating innovation, investment, and market development for low-carbon materials.

(h) At the same conference, the United States Department of State, in conjunction with dozens of leading companies, launched the First Movers Coalition, through which member companies committed to use their purchasing power to create early markets for innovative clean technologies across hard to abate sectors, including via advance market commitments.

(i) At the 27th Conference of Parties United Nations Climate Conference in Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, coalition members committed to purchase or specify at least 10 percent by volume of cement and concrete per year that meets specific low-carbon benchmarks, inclusive of any supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) by 2030 and excluding fossil-based SCMs by 2035.

SEC. 2.

 It is the intent of the Legislature that state agencies, including the Transportation Agency support efforts to decarbonize hard to abate sectors, including cement and concrete, by supporting development of breakthrough emerging technologies, and that state agencies strive to meet or exceed commitments made by the First Movers Coalition wherever feasible, including for both cement and concrete.

SEC. 3.

 Section 38561.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

38561.4.

 (a) For purposes of this section, “benchmark for low-carbon cement and concrete” means the benchmarks for concrete and cement products set forth in the commitment made by the First Movers Coalition at the 27th Conference of Parties United Nations Climate Conference in Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

(b) It is the policy of the state that state agencies, including the Transportation Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Department of General Services, and the Department of Water Resources, to purchase or specify specify, on a statewide basis, at least 10 percent volume percent, by volume, of cement and concrete, including supplementary cementitious materials, that meet or exceed the benchmark for low-carbon cement and concrete by 2030 and to exclude the purchase of all fossil-based supplementary cementitious materials by 2035.

(c) (1) To help the state attain the goals set forth in subdivision (a), (b), by March 31, 2024, the Transportation Agency, the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of General Services, the Department of Water Resources, and other state agencies, in collaboration with the state board, shall develop and enter into a model advance procurement agreements agreement for the purchase or specification of low-carbon cement and low-carbon concrete products up to 10 years in advance that would facilitate the development of production of concrete, cement, and supplementary cementitious materials that meet or exceed the benchmark for low-carbon cement and concrete. The agreements shall collectively represent an amount equivalent to not less than 10 percent of state agencies’ total annual spending attributable to cement and concrete by 2030, and aim to secure a future pipeline of increasingly low-carbon cement and low-carbon concrete for state projects and demonstrate future market demand to enable suppliers of low-carbon cement and low-carbon concrete products to scale up production.

(2) In meeting the goals set forth in subdivision (b), a state agency may use the model advance procurement agreement developed pursuant to paragraph (1) for the purchase or specification of low-carbon cement and low-carbon concrete products.