BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 761
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
761 (Levine) - As Amended April 21, 2015
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|Policy |Natural Resources |Vote:|8 - 1 |
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| |Water, Parks and Wildlife | |13 - 2 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires $50 million to be available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to establish a grant program for projects
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that increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions on working lands. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires CDFA, in consultation with the Department of
Conservation (DOC), CalRecyle, Air Resources Board (ARB), and
the Department of Water Resources (DWR), to develop and adopt
project solicitation and evaluation guidelines to implement
the grant program.
2)Defines Working Lands as privately-owned agricultural lands,
ranches, and rangelands.
3)Defines Carbon Farm Planning as a landscape-level
conservation planning process designed to: 1) identify GHG
emissions reduction, sequestration and mitigation
opportunities on working lands; and 2) quantify those GHG
benefits using the US Department of Agriculture's
COMET-Planner, COMET-Farm, and other quantification tools.
4)Requires CDFA to quantify the benefits of each project funded
and post the evaluation information on their Internet Web
site.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Cost pressures of $50 million (unspecified fund) to fund the
grant program.
2)Increased initial and ongoing costs for CDFA, in the range of
$2 million (unspecified fund) to develop and administer the
program (based on a $50 million program).
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3)Absorbable costs for DOC, Cal Recycle, ARB and DWR.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill will fund
15-20 pilot projects to expand the use of sustainable
agricultural practices, including compost application, on
rangelands and other agricultural lands. The author
states research shows that these pilots are expected to
increase soil carbon sequestration (reduce greenhouse
gasses), improve soil water retention, and make
agricultural land more resilient to climate change and
drought.
2)Healthy Soils. Increased carbon is soils produces multiple
benefits, including increased water holding capacity,
increased crop yields and decreased sediment erosion.
The Governor's May Revision proposes to spend $20 million from
AB 32 cap and trade revenues (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund)
to fund demonstration projects that increase carbon in soils.
The author may wish to align this bill with the Governor's
proposal.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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