BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 245
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
AB 245 (Grove) - As Amended: April 2, 2013
SUBJECT : California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006:
public meetings
SUMMARY : Subjects the Western Climate Initiative, Incorporated
(WCI, Inc.), and its appointees to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act (Act) when performing their duties. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Removes WCI, Inc.'s current exemption from the Act and instead
subjects the WCI, Inc. and its appointees to the Act.
EXISTING LAW
1)Exempts WCI, Inc. and its appointees from the Act when
performing their duties.
2)The Act generally requires that all meetings of a state body
be open and public.
3)Defines a "state body" for purposes of the Act as:
a) Every state board, or commission, or similar multimember
body of the state that is created by statute or required by
law to conduct official meetings and every commission
created by executive order.
b) A board, commission, committee, or similar multimember
body that exercises any authority of a state body delegated
to it by that state body.
c) An advisory board, advisory commission, advisory
committee, advisory subcommittee, or similar multimember
advisory body of a state body, if created, by formal action
of the state body or of any member of the state body, and
if the advisory body so created consists of three or more
persons.
d) A board, commission, committee, or similar multimember
body on which a member of a body that is a state body
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pursuant to this section serves in his or her official
capacity as a representative of that state body and that is
supported, in whole or in part, by funds provided by the
state body, whether the multimember body is organized and
operated by the state body or by a private corporation.
4)The California Global Solutions Act of 2006 designates the
State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with
monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse
gases.
5)Requires the State Air Resources Boards to adopt a statewide
greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020.
6)Requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt rules and
regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum,
technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas
emissions reductions.
7)Imposes conditions on the non-governmental entity Western
Climate Initiative, created to assist the State Resources
Board in the implementation of the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : According to the author, "cap and trade"
is an enormous undertaking, with the exchange of billions of
dollars between the private sector and the government under the
oversight of WCI, Inc. By passing AB 245, the legislature can
assure the people of California that all efforts by their
government to reduce carbon emissions should and will only be
conducted through open and transparent meetings.
History of Western Climate Initiative, Incorporated : In
November 2011, the Western Climate Initiative, formed WCI, Inc.,
a non-profit corporation formed to provide administrative and
technical services to support the implementation of state and
provincial greenhouse gas emissions trading programs. According
to their website, the WCI, Inc., will develop a compliance
tracking system that tracks both allowances and offsets;
administer allowance auctions; and conduct market monitoring of
allowance auctions and offset certificate trading.
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The Board of Directors includes officials from the provinces of
Quebec and British Columbia, and public officials from the State
of California. The public officials from the State of
California include:
1. Mary Rodriguez, Secretary for
Environmental Protection,
2. Mary Nichols, Chairman of the
California Air Resources Board,
3. Kip Lipper, policy advisor on
energy and environment for California State
Senate President Pro Tempore,
4. Nancy Skinner, Member of the
California State Assembly from, California's
15th State Assembly district.
History of the Western Climate Initiative : The Western Climate
Initiative (WCI), not to be confused with WCI, Inc., is a
collaboration of independent jurisdictions working together to
identify, evaluate, and implement emissions trading policies to
tackle climate change at a regional level. It began in February
2007 when the Governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico,
Oregon, and Washington signed an agreement directing their
respective states to develop a regional target for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, participate in a multi-state registry
to track and manage greenhouse gas emissions in the region, and
develop a market-based program to reach the target. In the
following years, the Governors of Montana and Utah along with
the Premiers of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec
joined the original five states in committing to tackle climate
change at a regional level.
In July 2010, all 11 jurisdictions collaborated in the
development of the Design for the WCI Regional Program, which
provides a roadmap to inform WCI partner jurisdictions as they
implement the cap-and-trade program in their jurisdictions. All
states except for California, withdrew as partners from WCI in
2011. California, along with British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec
and Manitoba are continuing to work together, as partners in
WCI, to develop and harmonize their emissions trading program
policies.
Bagley-Keene Act : When the Legislature enacted the Bagley-Keene
Act (Act) of 1967 it essentially said that when a body sits down
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to develop its consensus, there needs to be a seat at the table
reserved for the public. In doing so, the Legislature has
provided the public with the ability to monitor and be part of
the decision-making process. The act explicitly mandates open
meetings for California State agencies, boards, and commissions.
The act facilitates transparency of government activities and
protects the rights of citizens to participate in state
government deliberations. Therefore, absent a specific reason
to keep the public out of meetings, the public should be allowed
to monitor and participate in the decision-making process.
Similarly, the California's Brown Act of 1953 protects citizen's
rights to open meetings at the local and county government
levels.
Arguments in Support : According to CalTax, "In 2012, the
Legislature exempted WCI from open meeting requirements in a
last minute budget trailer bill that received no debate or
public hearings. Such action should have been more fully vetted
- particularly since WCI will be playing a critical role in
overseeing California's carbon market. Public trust in
government is developed with transparency. Government that
allows the public to observe the policymaking and regulatory
process improves accountability."
Furthermore, the Coalition of Energy Users, along with other
organizations, argue that AB 245 is a common sense measure that
ensures citizens are ensured transparency in a process that will
have significant impacts on people's everyday lives.
Suggested amendment : The WCI, Inc. was given an exemption to
the Act because of the unique composition of the committee and
the vast distance between its members, which would make it
nearly impossible for WCI, Inc. to follow the very specific
provisions of the Act. For instance, the participating
jurisdictions are geographically dispersed throughout North
America, and their budgets don't allow for frequent travel;
leading to WCI, Inc. meetings being held by telephone conference
calls. Though the Act allows for teleconference meetings, it
requires each site from which a member of the body participates
to be accessible to the public. Therefore the committee may wish
to keep WCI's current exemption from the Act and instead require
WCI, Inc. to:
Maintain open meeting standards and meeting notice
requirements consistent with the general policies of the
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Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with
Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of
Title 2 of the Government Code) and affording the public
the greatest possible access, consistent with other duties
of the organization.
In 2002, when faced with a similar situation, the legislature
passed and the Governor signed SB 1753 (Bowen), which required
the Independent System Operators (IOS), a non-profit public
benefit corporation, to maintain open meeting standards and
meeting policies consistent with the Act. It is important to
note that the WCI, Inc. is currently in the process drafting an
open meeting policy that closely resembles the IOS's policy and
is expected to be adopted by the end of this year.
Double referral : Should AB 245 pass the Assembly Committee on
Governmental Organization on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, this
bill will be referred to the Assembly Committee on Natural
Resources for further consideration.
Related Legislation : AB 527 (Gaines). Subjects WCI, Inc. and
its appointees to the Act and would prohibit the state board
from making a payment pursuant to any agreement contract, or
revision of an agreement or contract entered into with WCI,
Inc., unless the state board makes a finding that the WCI, Inc.
has complied with, among other things, the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act. (Pending in Assembly Natural Resources Committee)
SB 726 (Lara). Among other provisions, the measure would
subject WCI, Inc. and its appointees to the Act. In addition,
the bill would require WCI, Inc. to cease all work on behalf of
the state until the non-ex office California membership of the
board of directors of WCI, Inc. is confirmed by the senate.
(Pending in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
Prior Legislation : SB 1018 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal
Review), Chapter 39, Statutes of 2012. Among other provisions,
exempted WCI, Inc. from the Bagley-Keene Act.
AB 32 (N��ez), Chapter 388, Statutes of 2006. Enacted the
Global Warming Act of 2006, which created a statewide greenhouse
gas emission limit that would reduce emissions to 1990 levels by
2020. The measure directed the California Air Resources Board to
begin developing discrete early actions to reduce greenhouse
gases while also preparing a scoping plan to identify how best
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to reach the 2020 limit.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Associated Builders and Contractors of California
California Concrete Pumpers Alliance
California Construction Trucking Association
CalTax
Central Coast Forest Association
Coalition of Energy Users
Friends for Saving California Jobs
International Faith Based Coalition
National Federation of Independent Business - California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531