BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 26
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Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 26 (Bonilla) - As Amended: April 22, 2013
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Labor 5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill adds investment criteria for auction revenues
resulting from the cap-and trade program adopted by the Air
Resources Board and applies labor standards to specified
construction and maintenance work. Specifically, this bill:
1)Adds funding criteria to the extent feasible, to meet the
following policy objectives:
a) Transition the state's workforce away from carbon
intensive project job skills to GHG reducing project job
skills.
b) Reinvest on a regional basis to meet economic needs
resulting from climate change policy.
c) Authorize funding for apprenticeship and job training
programs associated with GHG reduction technologies.
d) Require the Investment Plan to allocate funding
consistent with statewide goals, including those described
in SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008.
2)Provides that construction, alteration, demolition,
installation, repair and maintenance work funded by the
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Fund shall be considered public
works and subject to prevailing wage laws.
3)Authorizes funding for refinery maintenance to reduce GHG
emissions if the work that falls under an approved
AB 26
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apprenticeship program as specified, and is performed by
skilled journeypersons and registered apprentices.
FISCAL EFFECT
Increased costs to the ARB, potentially in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars (special fund) to integrate workforce
training and regional economic needs into funding criteria and
the investment plan.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. This bill is intended to ensure cap-and-trade
revenue is available for job retraining and apprenticeship
programs to help employees transition to a green economy.
Additionally, this bill is intended to uphold the state's
commitment to a living wage by clarifying that
construction-type activities paid for with cap-and trade
revenue are considered public works with applicable existing
labor laws.
2)Background. AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 455, Statutes of 2006)
requires California to limit its emissions of GHGs so that, by
2020, those emissions are equal to what they were in 1990.
The stated goal of the ARB in the AB 32 scoping plan, was to
achieve 20% of the necessary reductions 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 2012-13 Budget Act authorized the Department of Finance
(DOF) to allocate at least $500 million from cap-and-trade
revenue, and make commensurate reductions to General Fund
expenditure authority, to support the regulatory purposes of
AB 32.
To date, proceeds from the initial two auctions have raised
approximately $139 million.
3)Previous Legislation. AB 1532 (J. Perez, 2012 ) created the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Investment Plan and Communities
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Revitalization Act to set procedures for the investment of
regulatory fee revenues derived from the auction of greenhouse
gas (GHG) allowances pursuant to the cap and trade program
adopted by the Air Resources Board (ARB) under the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081