BILL ANALYSIS AB 2329 Page 1 REPLACE - 06/02/2010 Technical change (Member name) ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2329 (Ruskin and Chesbro) As Amended April 26, 2010 Majority vote NATURAL RESOURCES 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Chesbro, Brownley, De |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano, | | |Leon, Hill, Huffman, | |Bradford, | | |Skinner | |Charles Calderon, Coto, | | | | |Davis, | | | | |Monning, Ruskin, Skinner, | | | | |Solorio, | | | | |Torlakson, Torrico | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Gilmore, Knight, Logue |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, | | | | |Nielsen, Norby | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Codifies the Climate Action Team (CAT), which would be responsible for coordinating the state's climate change policy under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection (Secretary). Specifically, this bill : 1)Creates the CAT consisting of the: a) Secretary, who serves as chair and is required to coordinated oversight of the efforts to meet the AB 32 GHG targets. b) Secretary of Natural Resources Agency; c) Chairperson of the Air Resources Board (ARB); d) Chair of the California Energy Commission; e) President of the Public Utilities Commission; f) Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing; AB 2329 Page 2 g) Secretary of Food and Agriculture; h) Secretary of State and Consumer Services; i) Secretary of Health and Human Services; j) Director of the Office of Planning and Research; aa)Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development; and, bb)Ex-officio representatives of other departments as necessary. 2)Provides that multi-agency staff may be formed by the CAT to provide technical support in the following sectors: agriculture, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, energy, land use, coastal and delta resources, regional and international policy development, state operations, water, and climate research. 3)Requires the CAT to coordinate state climate policy to achieve the following goals: a) The maximum feasible and cost-effective reduction of GHGs through implementation of AB 32; b) The promotion of economic and job growth; c) The identification of unavoidable climate change impacts; d) The development and implementation of mitigation and adaptation plans to protect state natural resources, natural resources, and economy; e) The coordination of climate change policies with other states, the federal government, and other nations to identify the most effective climate change strategies and research efforts that can be done at the regional, national, and international levels; and, f) The coordination and efficient use of existing state resources, programs, and funds. AB 2329 Page 3 4)Requires the CAT to identify and review activities, funding programs, recommend policies, investment strategies, and provide information to local government to achieve the above goals. 5)Authorizes each member of the CAT to appoint a designee and requires each designee to act as the member in his or her place and stead. 6)Authorizes the CAT to hold duly noticed public meetings to solicit comments from the public and requires that those meetings be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act. EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires, pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), ARB to adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions 2)Creates, under Executive Orders (EO) S-3-05 and S-20-06, the CAT to engage in AB 32-related activities and overall climate policy; directs the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to coordinate multi-agency efforts to meet GHG emission reduction targets; and requires each agency to annually prepare and submit GHG-related information to CalEPA. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, Cal EPA indicates that existing staff currently supports CAT activity. Because this bill does not require CAT to do anything it does not currently do, Cal EPA contends it has no costs. However, the CAT currently operates consistent with EO, not statute. Should this bill become law, the cost for CAT administration, while not new, would be attributable to this bill. Therefore, this bill would result in annual cost of an unknown amount but, based on passed budget requests, likely around $1 million a year (mainly special funds). COMMENTS : Effective coordination of existing programs and funding by the state is required to help the state meet its robust greenhouse gas emission targets. In the absence of AB 2329, there is nothing in law that requires the state's climate change policy activities to be coordinated across state AB 2329 Page 4 agencies. AB 2329 ensures that the state has multi-sector climate policy coordination and a plan to address climate change impacts. State agencies are currently required to report on their GHG emissions and actions taken to reduce emissions through an annual CAT report. So far the CAT has been responsible for coordinating overall climate policy for state agencies, as well as to consider and implement strategies to reduce their GHG emissions. According to the authors, more effective coordination of existing programs and funding resources in California can improve the achievement of California GHG emission reductions while protecting the state's infrastructure, communities, and natural resources from climate change impacts. The authors also add that more effective coordination of these factors may provide economic growth. Since the CAT was created by an executive order, it may be terminated at the end of the Schwarzenegger administration unless it becomes codified. According to the authors, "effective coordination of existing programs and funding by the state is required to help the state meet its robust greenhouse gas emission targets. In the absence of AB 2329, there is nothing in law that requires the state's climate change policy activities to be coordinated across state agencies." Codification of the CAT has been attempted previously. Most recently in 2009, SB 721 (Steinberg) attempted to codify the CAT under the CalEPA Secretary. However, SB 721 did not include representatives of some state departments that were currently included within the CAT and was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 1760 (Perata) formalized the structure and duties of the CAT to coordinate climate policy and expenditure of state funds. SB 1760 passed the Legislature in 2008, but was vetoed by the Governor. SB 721 also differed from SB 1760 in that in included deployment and adaptation actions as a part of the CAT's responsibilities. While this bill (AB 2329) does not explicitly mention "deployment," it does mention that the CAT must work to coordinate the "development and implementation of mitigation and adaptation plans to protect the natural resources, public health and welfare, and economy of California." Similarly, in 2008, SB 660 (Perata) attempted to establish the Strategic Research Investment Council which would be required to prepare a research, development and demonstration (RD&D) plan for state agency expenditures for clean technology, AB 2329 Page 5 environmental protection, and public interest energy research and present the plan to the Legislature. SB 660 was vetoed by the governor with the rationale that creating yet another substantial layer of administration would hinder the current Administration coordination (the CAT) on climate change RD&D, and would remove the necessary flexibility needed to continue to react to topical issues and rapidly changing technologies. Analysis Prepared by : Jessica Westbrook / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0004714