Amended in Assembly April 23, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 309


Introduced by Assembly Member Mathis

February 12, 2015


An act relating tobegin delete education,end deletebegin insert water,end insert and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 309, as amended, Mathis. Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, Sr. Research Grant.

Existing law establishes various grant programs relating to education, including, but not limited to, the Education Technology Grant Act of 2002 and the Child Development Teacher and Supervisor Grant Program.

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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. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in regulations to achieve this goal. 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.

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Under existing law, the Department of Water Resources operates the State Water Project and exercises other functions relating to the state’s water resources.

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This bill would require thebegin delete state board, in collaboration with theend delete Department of Waterbegin delete Resources,end deletebegin insert Resourcesend insert to create and administer the “Edmund G. ‘Pat’ Brown, Sr., Research Grant” to provide a one-year grant to support research that would examine ways tobegin delete increase fresh water yield, improve energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by combining desalination and power generation plants.end deletebegin insert expand California’s water portfolio.end insert The bill would specify that only California State University campuses and University of California campuses are eligible for this grant. The bill would appropriate $145,000 from thebegin delete Greenhouse Gas Reductionend deletebegin insert Generalend insert Fund to thebegin delete state boardend deletebegin insert departmentend insert for this purpose.

Vote: begin deletemajority end deletebegin insert23end insert. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

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P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

2(a) The largest desalination plant project in the western
3hemisphere is in Carlsbad, California. The project has been
4approved by the California Coastal Commission, the State Lands
5Commission, and the area’s regional water quality control board,
6and, when the plan becomes operational in 2016, has the ability
7to produce 50 million gallons of drinking water daily for the
8residents of San Diego County.

9(b) In March 2015, Santa Barbara municipal officials announced
10that the city is working on bringing a 20-year old desalination plant
11back into operation. The city expects that the facility will produce
12enough water to make up approximately 30 percent of Santa
13Barbara’s water demand once the plant is fully operational.

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14

begin deleteSEC. 2.end delete
15begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

(a) Thebegin delete State Air Resources Board, in
16collaboration with theend delete
Department of Waterbegin delete Resources,end deletebegin insert Resourcesend insert
17 shall create and administer the “Edmund G. ‘Pat’ Brown, Sr.,
18Research Grant” to provide a one-year grant to support research
19that would examine ways tobegin delete increase fresh water yield, improve
P3    1energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
2combining desalination and power generation plants.end delete
begin insert expand
3California’s water portfolio.end insert
Only California State University
4campuses and University of California campuses shall be eligible
5for this grant.

6(b) There is hereby appropriated one hundred forty-five thousand
7dollars ($145,000) from thebegin delete Greenhouse Gas Reductionend deletebegin insert Generalend insert
8 Fund to thebegin delete State Air Resources Boardend deletebegin insert Department of Water
9Resourcesend insert
for the purpose of this section.



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