BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1447
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 1447 (Waldron) - As Amended: February 18, 2014
SUBJECT : California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006:
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: traffic synchronization
SUMMARY : Adds "funding to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions through traffic signal synchronization" to the list of
eligible investments of moneys appropriated from the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund (GHGRF).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), to adopt a
statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by
2020 and adopt regulations to achieve maximum technologically
feasible and cost-effective GHG emission reductions.
2)Authorizes ARB to permit the use of market-based compliance
mechanisms to comply with GHG reduction regulations, once
specified conditions are met.
3)Establishes the GHGRF and requires all moneys, except for
fines and penalties, collected by ARB from the auction or sale
of allowances pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism
(i.e., the cap-and-trade program adopted by ARB under AB 32)
to be deposited in the GHGRF and available for appropriation
by the Legislature.
4)Establishes the GHGRF Investment Plan and Communities
Revitalization Act [AB 1532 (John A. Pérez), Chapter 807,
Statutes of 2012] to set procedures for the investment of GHG
allowance auction revenues. AB 1532 authorizes a range of GHG
reduction investments and establishes several additional
policy objectives.
5)Requires the investment plan to allocate: (1) a minimum of 25
percent of the available moneys in the fund to projects that
provide benefits to identified disadvantaged communities; and,
(2) a minimum of 10 percent of the available moneys in the
fund to projects located within identified disadvantaged
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communities [SB 535 (De Leon), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012].
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background . According to ARB, a total reduction of 80 million
metric tons (MMT), or 16 percent compared to business as
usual, is necessary to achieve the 2020 limit. Approximately
78 percent of the reductions will be achieved through
identified direct regulations. ARB proposes to achieve the
balance of reductions necessary to meet the 2020 limit
(approximately 18 MMT) through a cap-and-trade program that
covers an estimated 600 entities.
The 2012-13 Budget Act authorized Department of Finance (DOF)
to allocate at least $500 million from cap-and-trade revenue,
and make commensurate reductions to General Fund (GF)
expenditure authority, to support the regulatory purposes of
AB 32. AB 1532 established a long-term spending strategy for
moneys in the Fund, including procedures for deposit and
expenditure of cap-and-trade auction revenues pursuant to an
investment plan. AB 1532 specifically authorizes funding for
transportation projects that reduce GHG emissions.
While DOF and ARB developed a three-year investment plan for
the auction proceeds pursuant to AB 1532, the 2013-14 Budget
Act provided that the first $500 million in auction revenue be
loaned to the GF and did not appropriate any funds pursuant to
the investment plan. For the 2014-15 Budget, the Governor has
proposed spending $850 million on a variety of programs,
including $250 million for High Speed Rail and approximately
$350 million for other transportation-related investments.
However, no funds have been proposed for traffic signal
synchronization.
2)Prior funding for traffic signal synchronization . The Highway
Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond
Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1B on
November 7, 2006, provided $250 million to fund traffic signal
synchronization or other technology-based improvements to
improve safety, operations and the effective capacity of local
streets and roads. SB 88, a 2007 budget trailer bill,
allocated $150 million to the City of Los Angeles. The
remaining $100 million was allocated in much smaller amounts
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by the California Transportation Commission to jurisdictions
around the state.
3)Traffic management already broadly eligible for GHGRF moneys .
AB 1532 included the following investment category: "Funding
to reduce GHG emissions through strategic planning and
development of sustainable infrastructure projects, including
transportation and housing." The following is an excerpt from
the adopted AB 1532 investment plan for 2013-14 through
2015-16:
Sustainable communities and clean transportation
It is recommended that this investment category receive the
largest allocation. The transportation sector is the
largest contributor of both GHGs and criteria air
pollutants, and it is clear that California's
transportation system will need to be transformed to
achieve GHG emissions reduction targets and air quality
standards. We must transition to cleaner, renewable fuels,
cleaner vehicles, and a more efficient infrastructure to
meet clean air goals. The State must look to invest new
funding in rail modernization, including expanded transit,
passenger rail, and high-speed rail service, as well as
programs that encourage a change in land-use patterns and
mode shift by contributing to transit-oriented development,
sustainable communities, and active transportation
programs. In addition, the state needs to fund programs
that modernize existing road systems to promote efficient
use, such as complete streets and traffic management
technologies . (emphasis added)
4)Eligibility vs. favoritism . If the committee finds it
necessary to clarify the eligibility of traffic signal
synchronization, the author and the committee may wish to
consider replacing the current language adding it as a
stand-alone investment category (page 3, lines 20-23 of the
bill) with language adding traffic signal synchronization to
the existing sustainable infrastructure category, as follows:
Funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through
strategic planning and development of sustainable
infrastructure projects, including, but not limited to,
transportation and housing. Sustainable transportation
infrastructure projects may include traffic signal
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synchronization when the project is designed and
implemented to achieve cost-effective reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions and includes specific reduction
targets and metrics to evaluate the project's effect.
5)Double referral . This bill is double-referred to the Assembly
Transportation Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
California Chamber of Commerce
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers Association
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Taxpayers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092