BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 21
Author: Olsen (R), et al.
Amended: 9/10/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 8/5/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Renewable Fuel Standard program: reform
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges Congress to reform the
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, or the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to use all available
authority, to expeditiously transition away from biofuel sources
that compete with food production, as well as implement
aggressive mechanisms to promote the development of advanced,
sustainable noncrop-based fuels, including, but not limited to,
cellulosic ethanol.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1. The RFS program was created under the Energy Policy Act
(EPA) of 2005, and established the first renewable fuel
volume mandate in the U.S.
2. EPA required 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be
blended into gasoline by 2012 and, under the Energy
Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, the RFS program
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was expanded to include diesel, in addition to gasoline.
3. EISA increased the volume of renewable fuel required to be
blended into transportation fuel from nine billion gallons in
2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
4. The 2013 requirement of corn-starch-derived ethanol of 13.8
billion gallons represents approximately 84% of the total
renewable fuel mandated in EISA.
5. At the time that the RFS program became law, the daily price
of a metric ton of corn used in biofuel ethanol production
was $99, and at the time EISA became law, the daily price of
a metric ton of corn used in biofuel ethanol production had
risen to nearly $180, with the latest price of a metric ton
of corn currently reported by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture as approximately $310, representing an increase
of over 300 percent since the inception of the RFS program.
6. The US EPA has determined that as a result of the RFS
program, the increase in overall commodity prices expected as
a result of the demand for agricultural products used in
biofuel production will result in an annual increase of food
costs to consumers of over $3 billion by 2022.
7. Agriculture is a vital component of California's economic
livelihood with livestock, poultry and related products,
accounting for approximately 26%, or $12.4 billion of
California's gross agricultural cash income in 2011.
8. California leads the nation in milk production with over
1.75 million dairy cows that primarily depend on feed corn.
9. The loss of alternative feedstock acreage to biofuel crop
production combined with the unprecedented rise in corn
prices due to the requirements of the RFS program have
significantly contributed to the loss of dairy production
capacity in California, as represented by the 387 California
dairies that have gone out of business since 2007, with over
100 dairy farms lost in 2012 alone.
This resolution urges Congress to reform the RFS program, or the
US EPA to use all available authority, to expeditiously
transition away from biofuel sources that compete with food
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production, as well as implement aggressive mechanisms to
promote the development of advanced, sustainable noncrop-based
fuels, including, but not limited to, cellulosic ethanol.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 8/5/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Garcia, Gatto, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman,
Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder,
Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez,
Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonta, Gomez, Hall, Holden, Quirk, Vacancy,
Vacancy
RM:k 9/12/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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