BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
19 (Ruskin)
Hearing Date: 08/27/2009 Amended: 05/04/2009
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EQ 5-2
AB 19 (Ruskin)
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BILL SUMMARY: This bill directs the Air Resources Board to
develop a program for the voluntary labeling of consumer goods
with information on the emissions of greenhouse gasses
associated with the product.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Developing guidelines and $170 $340
$680Special *
monitoring compliance
* Air Pollution Control Fund. Out year costs may be offset by
fee revenues.
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STAFF COMMENTS: Suspense file.
Under the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (commonly
referred to as AB 32), the Air Resources Board is required to
approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit such that
total statewide emissions in 2020 are equivalent to the
emissions level in 1990. In furtherance of AB 32, the Board has
developed a scoping plan which lays out the various strategies
that will be used to achieve the state's goals.
This bill directs the Air Resources Board to establish a program
for the voluntary labeling of consumer products to disclose the
total amount of carbon emissions associated with their
production and distribution (referred to as a carbon footprint).
The Air Resources Board will only be required to develop the
protocol if it finds that it is feasible and practical to do so.
In order to facilitate carbon labeling, the Air Resources Board
is directed to develop protocols for assessing, verifying, and
labeling the carbon footprint of consumer goods. The Air
Resources Board is required to develop a standardized label that
provides information to consumers about the carbon footprint of
products - either specific information about the carbon
emissions associated with a particular good or information on a
AB 19 (Ruskin)
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specific good's relative carbon emissions compared to other,
similar goods.
Under the bill, the labeling program will be voluntary for the
producers of consumer goods. If producers wish to participate in
the program, they must evaluate the carbon footprint of their
products, using the protocols developed by the Air Resources
Board and to provide that information to consumers.
The Air Resources Board may adopt standardized criteria for
third-party verification of carbon footprint data if the Board
finds it necessary or it may adopt other means of verifying
compliance with the protocols.
The bill authorizes the Air Resources board to assess a fee on
participating manufacturers to pay for its costs.
Committee staff estimates that the Board will need at lease two
additional staff positions and associated expenses for ongoing
development of protocols and guidelines and at lease two
additional staff positions for ongoing monitoring and
enforcement of labeling requirements.
Staff notes that the use of carbon footprint labeling was not
included in the Scoping Plan adopted by the Board and thus there
has been no formal analysis of the cost-effectiveness of using
carbon footprint labeling as a means of achieving the state's
greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies.
Staff notes that the Air Resources Board has contracted with
researchers at UC Berkeley to study the feasibility of using
carbon labeling as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
That study will be completed by early to mid 2011.