BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1452
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Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1452 (Skinner) - As Amended: April 30, 2009
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Air Resources Board (ARB), on or
before January 1, 2011, to develop and adopt limitations on
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the production of
cement sold in the state, regardless of the cement's origin and
including GHG emission resulting from transportation.
FISCAL EFFECT
Moderate costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars in
2009-10 and 2010-11 to develop regulations to limit GHG
emissions from the production of cement sold in the state. (Air
Pollution Control Fund)
(ARB would face most or all of these costs to the extent that
ARB includes regulation of cement in its implementation of AB
32. However, because this bill requires ARB to undertake such
regulations, this analysis attributes the costs referenced above
to this bill.)
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends this bill is needed to ensure
that ARB's regulation of GHG's applies to both cement
producers located within California and those located outside
the state. The author further contends such equal treatment
will prevent disadvantaging California's cement producers
while reducing GHG's resulting from the use of cement in
California.
2)Background. AB 32 (N??ez, Chapter 455, Statutes of 2006)
AB 1452
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requires California to limit its emissions of GHGs so that, by
2020, those emissions are equal to what they were in 1990. To
that end, AB 32 requires ARB to quantify the state's 1990 GHG
emissions and to adopt, by January 1, 2009, a "scoping plan"
that describes the board's plan for achieving the maximum
technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions of GHG
emissions reductions by 2020. In keeping with AB 32, ARB
adopted its AB 32 scoping plan in December of 2008.
Consistent with AB 32, the scoping plan includes both direct
regulatory measures and market-based compliance mechanisms.
Direct regulatory requirements of the type that have typified
California's regulation of environmental quality, such as
efficiency and emissions standards, account for over
three-quarters of the plan's GHG emissions reductions. The
remainder of the plan's GHG emissions reductions-about
20%-result from a cap-and-trade market in which regulated
emissions sources buy and sell credits that give the holder
the right to emit a quantity of GHGs.
The scoping plan does not include limitations on GHG emissions
associated with cement sold in California. However, the
scoping plan does provide for energy efficiency audits of
large industrial sources of GHGs, which could lead to
reductions in GHG emissions. In addition, the scoping plan
indicates ARB's intention to include large industrial sources
in its cap-and-trade program. Presumably, those large
industrial sources include the state's larger cement suppliers
and producers.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081