Amended in Assembly March 14, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 572

Introduced by Assembly Member Atkins

February 20, 2013

An act to add begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections end insert 38571.5 begin insert and 38571.6 end insert to the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 572, as amended, Atkins. California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: market-based compliance mechanisms.

The California Global Warming 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. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The act authorizes the state board to include use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature.

This bill, for purposes of determining the viability of incentivizing greenhouse gas emissions reductions through increased energy efficiency, would require the begin delete state board end delete begin insert Public Utilities Commission end insert , in consultation with the begin insert state board and the end insert State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to begin delete identify and evaluate the energy efficiency investments of at least one large-scale building development project that the state board determines will likely provide a significant low-cost opportunity for end delete begin insert develop one or more protocols, as specified, to enable 3rd end insert begin insert -party intermediaries to document, aggregate, and trade or sell on behalf of specified entities, the end insert greenhouse gas emissions reductions begin delete through investment in end delete begin insert value of end insert energy efficient measures that are more stringent than applicable building code standards.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 38571.5 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

38571.5.  

To determine the viability of incentivizing greenhouse
gas emissions reductions through increased energy efficiency, the
begin delete state board end delete begin insert Public Utilities Commission end insert , in consultation with the
begin insert state board and the end insert State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, shall begin delete identify and evaluate the energy
efficiency investments of at least one large-scale building
development project that the state board determines will likely
provide a significant low-cost opportunity for end delete begin insert develop one or more
protocols to enable third-party intermediaries to document,
aggregate, and trade or sell on behalf of commercial property
owners, California businesses, and municipal facility clients, the end insert
greenhouse gas emissions reductions begin delete through investment in end delete begin insert value
of end insert energy efficient measures that are more stringent than applicable
building code standards.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 38571.6 is added to the end insert begin insert Health and Safety
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 38571.6. end insert   

In developing the protocols described in Section
38571.5, the Public Utilities Commission shall do both of the
following:

(a) Give full consideration to the need for adequacy of the scale,
type, and number of projects proposed, which shall include
multiunit, affordable housing projects and school projects.

(b) Recommend procedures to ensure transparency in selection
of projects and accurate accounting of credits so that credits are
counted only once for the purpose of meeting any compliance
obligation required by law with respect to carbon emission.

end insert