BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AJR 43
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AJR
43 (Williams)
As Amended June 13, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Natural |7-0 |Williams, Cristina | |
|Resources | |Garcia, Gomez, | |
| | |Hadley, McCarty, Mark | |
| | |Stone, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Urges the United States Congress to enact a tax on
carbon-based fossil fuels. Specifically, this joint resolution:
1)Urges the United States Congress to enact, without delay, a
tax on carbon-based fossil fuels.
2)Specifies the tax should be collected once, as far upstream in
the economy as practical, or at the port of entry into the
United States; the tax rate should start low and increase
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steadily and predictably to achieve the goal of reducing
carbon dioxide emissions in the United States to 80% below
1990 levels by 2050; all tax revenue should be returned to
middle- and low-income Americans to protect them from the
impact of rising prices due to the tax; and, the international
competitiveness of United States businesses should be
protected by using carbon-content-based tariffs and tax
refunds.
3)Includes related "whereas" statements regarding climate change
and a carbon tax.
FISCAL EFFECT: This resolution is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: Carbon tax (or fee) and dividend is a market-based,
economy-wide approach to pricing carbon and reducing greenhouse
gas emissions popularized by Peter Barnes around 2008. It is
presented as a more simple, straightforward, and effective
alternative to other market-based schemes, including
cap-and-trade.
In California, the Air Resources Board has adopted a
cap-and-regulation under the market-based compliance mechanism
authority granted by AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 488, a majority vote
bill enacted in 2006. The current cap-and-trade regulation
applies through 2020. A carbon tax, which would require a 2/3
vote of the Legislature in California, has never advanced.
Several fee/tax-and-divided, cap-and-dividend, and cap-and-trade
bills have been proposed in Congress over the past 10 years, but
none have passed.
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According to the author:
Currently at the federal level there are no statutes
addressing carbon levels in the atmosphere, or the
long term affects these levels are having with global
climate change. The measures proposed in this
resolution will benefit the economy, human health, the
environment, and national security, even without
consideration of global temperatures, as a result of
correcting market distortions, reductions in
non-greenhouse-gas pollutants, reducing the outflow of
dollars to oil-producing countries and improvements in
the energy security of the United States. Phased-in
carbon fees on greenhouse gas emissions (1) are the
most efficient, transparent, and enforceable mechanism
to drive an effective and fair transition to a
domestic-energy economy, (2) will stimulate investment
in alternative-energy technologies, and (3) give all
businesses powerful incentives to increase their
energy-efficiency and reduce their carbon footprints
in order to remain competitive. Equal monthly
dividends (or "rebates") from carbon fees paid to
every American household can help ensure that families
and individuals can afford the energy they need during
the transition to a greenhouse gas-free economy and
the dividends will stimulate the economy.
The weight of scientific evidence indicates that
greenhouse gas emissions from human activities
including the burning of fossil fuels and other
sources are causing rising global temperatures. The
weight of scientific evidence also indicates that a
return from the current concentration of more than 400
parts per million ("ppm") of carbon dioxide ("CO2") in
the atmosphere to 350 ppm CO2 or less is necessary to
slow or stop the rise in global temperatures. Further
increases in global temperatures pose imminent and
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substantial dangers to human health, the natural
environment, the economy, national security, and an
unacceptable risk of catastrophic impacts to human
civilization.
Analysis Prepared by:
Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN:
0003557