BILL NUMBER: AB 1504	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 17, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 13, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 4, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Chesbro)

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to amend Sections 4512  and 4513 of, to add Section
4512.5 to, and to add Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 4040) to
Part 1 of Division 4 of,   , 4513, 4551, and 4582 of,
and to add Section 4512.5 to,  the Public Resources Code,
relating to forest resources.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1504, as amended, Skinner. Forest resources: carbon
sequestration. 
    The 
    (1)     The  Z'berg-Nejedly Forest
Practice Act of 1973, which regulates timber harvesting, contains
legislative findings and declarations relative to forest resources,
including a declaration that it is the policy of the state to
encourage prudent and responsible forest resource management
calculated to serve the public's need for timber and other forest
products, while giving consideration to other specified public needs.
The act also states the Legislature's intent to create and maintain
an effective and comprehensive system of regulation and use of all
timberlands to assure that the goal of maximum sustained production
of high quality timber products is achieved while giving
consideration to specified values.
   This bill would include in that list of specified public needs and
that list of specified values sequestration of carbon dioxide. The
bill also would make other legislative findings and declarations
relative to carbon dioxide sequestration as it relates to forests.

   The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, by
March 1, 2011, to assess the capacity of its forest and rangeland
regulations and nonregulatory forestry programs to meet or exceed the
state's greenhouse gas reduction goals, consistent with the scoping
plan adopted by the board pursuant to the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006. The department would be required to publish a
draft assessment by December 1, 2010, for public review and comment.
The bill would require the board, in consultation with the
department, to convene an independent panel to peer-review the draft
assessment, and would require the department to incorporate the panel'
s findings and recommendations or describe in writing the reasons for
rejecting a finding or recommendation. The bill would provide that
the implementation of these requirements is contingent upon the
receipt of sufficient funding.  
   (2) The act requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to
adopt district forest practice rules and regulations in accordance
with specified policies to, among other things, assure the continuous
growing and harvesting of commercial forest tree species.  

   This bill would also require the board to ensure that its rules
and regulations that govern the harvesting of commercial forest tree
species consider the capacity of forest resources to sequester carbon
dioxide emissions sufficient to meet or exceed the state's
greenhouse gas reduction goals, consistent with the scoping plan
adopted by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.  
   (3) The act requires a timber harvesting plan to be filed with the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection by a specified person if
that person plans to harvest the timber on the land. The act requires
the plan to include, among other things, an outline of the methods
to be used to avoid excessive accelerated erosion from timber
operations to be conducted within the proximity of a stream. 

   This bill would also require the plan to include an estimate of
the net emissions of carbon dioxide from timber operations. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
4040) is added to Part 1 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code,
to read:
      CHAPTER 3.  FORESTS AND CARBON EMISSIONS


   4040.  (a) The department, in consultation with the State Air
Resources Board, by March 1, 2011, shall assess the capacity of its
forest and rangeland regulations and nonregulatory forestry programs
to meet or exceed the state's greenhouse gas reduction goals,
consistent with the scoping plan adopted by the State Air Resources
Board pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and
Safety Code). The department shall consider at least all of the
following in its assessment:
   (1) Whether relevant statutory or regulatory requirements
governing a timber harvesting plan, sustained yield plan or its
equivalent, nonindustrial timber management plan, or any other
discretionary approval for timber harvesting are sufficient to ensure
a net reduction or sequestration of carbon emissions from primary
forest carbon sources, sinks, or reservoirs.
   (2) Whether regulations governing conversion of timberland, as
defined by Section 4526, and forest land, as defined by subdivision
(g) of Section 12220, to nontimber and nonforest uses are sufficient
to offset lost sequestration capacity and carbon emissions associated
with the nontimber use.
   (3) Whether forest growth, harvest, and conversion information
obtained through the department's regulatory and nonregulatory
programs and other local, state, and federal sources is sufficient
and reliable in tracking changes to carbon stocks, including net
emissions and reductions, across the state's forested landscape.
   (b) (1) By December 1, 2010, the department shall publish a draft
assessment, including any recommendations, for public review and
comment. The period for public review and comment shall be at least
30 days.
   (2) The State Air Resources Board, in consultation with the
department, shall convene an independent panel of at least three
qualified experts to peer-review the draft assessment. The State Air
Resources Board shall select at least two of the experts from
academia.
   (3) The department shall incorporate the panel's findings and
recommendations or describe in writing the reasons, based on
substantial evidence, for rejecting a finding or recommendation.
   (c) (1) For the purposes of this section, "net reduction or
sequestration of carbon emissions" means an increase in carbon stocks
over time of a primary forest carbon source, sink, or reservoir,
compared to a baseline.
   (2) For the purposes of this section, "primary forest carbon
source, sink, or reservoir" includes standing live or dead trees,
soil, shrubs and herbaceous understory, lying dead wood, litter,
duff, and forest products.
   (d) This section shall be implemented only if the department
receives sufficient funding from the State Air Resources Board
pursuant to Section 38597 of the Health and Safety Code or from any
other public or private source. 
   SEC. 2.   SECTION 1.   Section 4512 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
   4512.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
forest resources and timberlands of the state are among the most
valuable of the natural resources of the state and that there is
great concern throughout the state relating to their utilization,
restoration, and protection.
   (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the forest
resources and timberlands of the state furnish high-quality timber,
recreational opportunities, and aesthetic enjoyment while providing
watershed protection and maintaining fisheries and wildlife.
   (c) The Legislature thus declares that it is the policy of this
state to encourage prudent and responsible forest resource management
calculated to serve the public's need for timber and other forest
products, while giving consideration to the public's need for
watershed protection, fisheries and wildlife, sequestration of carbon
dioxide, and recreational opportunities alike in this and future
generations.
   (d) It is not the intent of the Legislature by the enactment of
this chapter to take private property for public use without payment
of just compensation in violation of the California and United States
Constitutions.
   SEC. 3.   SEC. 2.   Section 4512.5 is
added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
   4512.5.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) State forests play a critical and unique role in the state's
carbon balance by sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
storing it long term as carbon.
   (b) Globally, deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. However, forests are also
the most expandable long-term carbon dioxide sinks.
   (c) According to the scoping plan adopted by the State Air
Resources Board pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the
Health and Safety Code), the state's forests currently are an annual
net sequester of five million metric tons of carbon dioxide
(5MMTCO2). In fact, the forest sector is the only sector included in
the scoping plan that provides a net sequestration of greenhouse gas
emissions.
   (d) The scoping plan proposes to maintain the current 5MMTCO2
annual sequestration rate through 2020 by implementing "sustainable
management practices," which include potential changes to existing
forest practices and land use regulations.
   (e) There is increasing evidence that climate change has and will
continue to stress forest ecosystems, which underscores the
importance of proactively managing forests so that they can adapt to
these stressors and remain a net sequester of carbon dioxide.
   (f) The board, the department, and the State Air Resources Board
should strive to go beyond the status quo sequestration rate and
ensure that their policies and regulations reflect the unique role
forests play in combating climate change.
   SEC. 4.   SEC. 3.   Section 4513 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
   4513.  It is the intent of the Legislature to create and maintain
an effective and comprehensive system of regulation and use of all
timberlands so as to ensure both of the following:
   (a) Where feasible, the productivity of timberlands is restored,
enhanced, and maintained.
   (b) The goal of maximum sustained production of high-quality
timber products is achieved while giving consideration to values
relating to sequestration of carbon dioxide, recreation, watershed,
wildlife, range and forage, fisheries, regional economic vitality,
employment, and aesthetic enjoyment.
   SEC. 4.    Section 4551 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   4551.   (a)    The board shall adopt district
forest practice rules and regulations for each district in accordance
with the policies set forth in Article 1 (commencing with Section
4511) of this chapter and pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code to assure the continuous growing and harvesting of commercial
forest tree species and to protect the soil, air, fish,  and
 wildlife, and water resources, including, but not limited
to, streams, lakes, and estuaries. 
   (b) The board shall ensure that its rules and regulations that
govern the harvesting of commercial tree species, where applicable,
consider the capacity of forest resources, including above-ground and
below-ground biomass and soil, to sequester carbon dioxide emissions
sufficient to meet or exceed the state's greenhouse gas reduction
goals, consistent with the scoping plan adopted by the State Air
Resources Board pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the
Health and Safety Code). 
   SEC. 5.    Section 4582 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   4582.  The timber harvesting plan shall be filed with the
department in writing by a person who owns, leases, or otherwise
controls or operates on all or any portion of any timberland and who
plans to harvest the timber thereon. If the person who files the plan
is not the owner of the timberland, the person filing the plan shall
notify the timberland owner by certified mail that the plan has been
submitted and shall certify that mailing to the department. The plan
shall be a public record and shall include all of the following
information:
   (a) The name and address of the timber owner.
   (b) The name and address of the timber operator if known at the
time of filing. If the timber operator is not known at the time of
filing, the plan submitter shall notify the department as soon as the
timber operator is known, but in any case before timber operations
begin.
   (c) A description of the land on which the work is proposed to be
done, including a United States Geological Survey quadrangle map or
equivalent indicating the location of all streams, the location of
all proposed and existing logging truck roads, and indicating
boundaries of all site I classification timberlands to be stocked in
accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 4561 and any other site
classifications if the board establishes specific minimum stocking
standards for other site classifications.
   (d) A description of the silvicultural methods to be applied,
including the type of logging equipment to be used.
   (e) An outline of the methods to be used to avoid excessive
accelerated erosion from timber operations to be conducted within the
proximity of a stream. 
   (f) An estimate of the net emissions of carbon dioxide from timber
operations, including emissions from above-ground and below-ground
carbon pools, such as biomass and soil.  
   (f) 
    (g)  Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique
area within the area of timber operations. 
   (g) 
    (h)  The expected dates of commencement and completion
of timber operations. 
   (h) 
    (i)  A certification by the registered professional
forester preparing the plan that he or she or a designee has
personally inspected the plan area. 
   (i)
    (j)  Any other information the board provides by
regulation to meet its rules and the standards of this chapter.

   (j) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1996.