BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1447 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1447 (Waldron and V. Manuel Pérez) As Amended April 22, 2014 Majority vote NATURAL RESOURCES 9-0 TRANSPORTATION 16-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Chesbro, Grove, Bigelow, |Ayes:|Lowenthal, Linder, | | |Garcia, Muratsuchi, | |Achadjian, Ammiano, | | |Patterson, | |Bloom, Bonta, Buchanan, | | |Skinner, Stone, Williams | |Daly, Frazier, Gatto, | | | | |Holden, Logue, Nazarian, | | | | |Patterson, Quirk-Silva, | | | | |Waldron | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 Ayes:Gatto, Bigelow, Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian Calderon, Campos, Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, Holden, Jones, Linder, Pan, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, Weber SUMMARY : Clarifies that eligible investments of moneys appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GHGRF) may include traffic signal synchronization when the project is designed and implemented to achieve cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and includes specific reduction targets and metrics to evaluate the project's effect. EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 [AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006], 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 AB 1447 Page 2 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% of the available moneys in the fund to projects that provide benefits to identified disadvantaged communities; and, 2) a minimum of 10% of the available moneys in the fund to projects located within identified disadvantaged communities [SB 535 (De Leon), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012]. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, no direct fiscal impact. Traffic signal synchronization projects that reduce GHG emissions are eligible for funding from the GHGRF. COMMENTS : 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 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 181, a 2007 budget trailer bill, allocated $150 million to the City of Los Angeles. The remaining $100 million was allocated in much smaller amounts by the California Transportation Commission to jurisdictions around the state. 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 AB 1447 Page 3 authority, to support the regulatory purposes of AB 32. AB 1532 established a long-term spending strategy for moneys in the GHGRF, 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. Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0003503