BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 726
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 726 (Lara)
As Amended August 22, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
NATURAL RESOURCES 9-0 JUDICIARY 10-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Chesbro, Grove, Bigelow, |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner, |
| |Garcia, Muratsuchi, | |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson, |
| |Patterson, Skinner, | |Garcia, Gorell, |
| |Stone, Williams | |Maienschein, Muratsuchi, |
| | | |Stone |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | |
| |Hall, Holden, Linder, | | |
| |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Imposes specified conditions on the participation of
the California board members of the Western Climate Initiative,
Incorporated (WCI, Inc.). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires WCI, Inc.'s California board members to participate
on the board so long as WCI, Inc. maintains:
a) An open meetings policy consistent with the Bagley-Keene
Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene).
b) A public records policy consistent with the California
Public Records Act (CPRA).
c) Bylaws that limit its activities to the technical and
operational support of the greenhouse gas emissions
reduction programs of California and other jurisdictions,
and do not allow WCI, Inc. to have policymaking authority.
SB 726
Page 2
2)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to provide notice to
the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) for all
procurements over $150,000 proposed by WCI, Inc. that are
expected to result in a contract no later than 30 days prior
to execution of those contracts.
3)Requires ARB to include information in the Governor's Budget
on all proposed expenditures and allocations of money to WCI,
Inc.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Imposes, pursuant to SB 1018 (Budget and Fiscal Review
Committee), Chapter 39, Statutes of 2012 (Resources Budget
Trailer Bill), conditions on the non-governmental entity WCI,
Inc., created to assist ARB in the implementation of AB 32
(Núñez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006.
a) Finds and declares that the establishment of WCI, Inc.
should be done transparently and should be independently
reviewed by the Attorney General for consistency with all
applicable laws.
b) Establishes the California membership of the board of
directors of WCI, Inc. as follows:
i) One appointee or his or her designee who shall serve
as an ex officio nonvoting member shall be appointed by
the Senate Rules Committee.
ii) One appointee or his or her designee who shall serve
as an ex officio nonvoting member shall be appointed by
the Speaker of the Assembly.
iii) The Chairperson of the ARB or her or his designee.
iv) The Secretary for Environmental Protection or his or
her designee.
c) Requires ARB to provide notice to the JLBC of any funds
over $150,000 provided to WCI, Inc. or its derivatives or
subcontractors no later than 30 days prior to transfer or
expenditure of these funds.
SB 726
Page 3
d) Exempts WCI, Inc. and its ARB and CalEPA appointees from
Bagley-Keene when performing their duties.
2)Bagley-Keene generally requires that all meetings of a state
body be open and public. Defines a "state body" to include a
board, commission, committee, or similar multimember body on
which a member of a body that is a state body 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.
3)CPRA requires that all records maintained by local and state
governmental agencies are open to public inspection unless
specifically exempt. Defines "public records" to include any
writing containing information relating to the conduct of the
public's business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any
state or local agency regardless of physical form or
characteristics.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, potential costs of up to $75,000 from the Cost of
Implementation (COI) Account to comply with the Public Records
Act, depending on the number and complexity of actual requests.
Minor, if any, costs to comply with the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act.
COMMENTS : 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 Web site, 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.
The Board of Directors includes officials from the provinces of
Quebec and British Columbia, and public officials from the State
of California.
The Western Climate Initiative, not to be confused with WCI,
Inc., is a collaboration of independent jurisdictions working
together to identify, evaluate, and implement emissions trading
SB 726
Page 4
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.
Related Legislation. SB 527 (Gaines) of the current legislative
session repeals WCI, Inc.'s exemption from Bagley-Keene and
provides that a contract between the state and WCI, Inc. shall
be subject to audit by the State Auditor. SB 527 is pending on
the Senate Floor.
Prior Legislation. SB 1018, the 2012 Resources Budget Trailer
Bill, among other provisions, exempted WCI, Inc. from
Bagley-Keene.
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0002245