BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1846| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ CONSENT Bill No: AB 1846 Author: V. Manuel Perez (D), et al Amended: 6/21/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE ENVIRONMENTA QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/14/10 AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley, Strickland SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/6/10 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : California Environmental Quality Act SOURCE : California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance DIGEST : This bill expands current law to allow use of a focused environmental impact report for installation of pollution control equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions to comply with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. ANALYSIS : The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a CONTINUED AB 1846 Page 2 significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, will have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA requires specified state agencies to perform, at the time of adoption of a rule or regulation requiring the installation of pollution control equipment or a performance standard or treatment requirement, an environmental analysis of the reasonably foreseeable methods of compliance. CEQA authorizes the use of a focused environmental impact report for a project that consists solely of the installation of pollution control equipment required by the specified state agencies. This bill additionally requires that the above environmental analysis be performed for a rule or regulation that requires the installation of pollution control equipment or a performance standard or treatment requirement adopted pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, including those for rules and regulations requiring the installation of pollution control equipment adopted by theState Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission. The bill authorizes the use of the focused environmental impact report for a project that consists solely of the installation of pollution control equipment or other components that are necessary to complete the installation of that equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with a rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 8/2/10) CONTINUED AB 1846 Page 3 California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (source) American Council of Engineering Companies Association of Environmental Professionals California Apartment Association California Business Properties Association California Chamber of Commerce California Forestry Association California Special Districts Association California State Council of Laborers Chambers of Commerce Alliance Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Regional Council of Rural Counties Santa Barbara County Southern California Edison ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, "To ensure timely compliance with California's climate change regulations, AB 1846 (V. M. Perez) allows state-regional water and air agencies the discretion to utilize a focused [EIR] for projects seeking to install pollution control equipment or that propose to change their raw material formulations to a more sustainable product for the purposes of complying with AB 32. This bill also expands the list of state agencies which can use these focused EIR provisions to also include the [CEC] and the [CPUC]. The author's office notes that "Potential projects may include: energy efficiency projects, diesel heater/boiler replacements to steam generators, combined heating and cooling, tank infrastructure upgrades to comply with the low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), as well as the replacement of natural gas compressors to electric compressors." Finally, according to the author, "AB 1846 (V.M. Perez) seeks to conform AB 32 regulations to existing law, assist in the reduction of California's GHG emissions, and spur job creation at projects seeking to upgrade technologically." ASSEMBLY FLOOR CONTINUED AB 1846 Page 4 AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore, Mendoza, Vacancy TSM:do 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED