BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 761 Hearing Date: 6/30/15
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|Author: |Levine |
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|Version: |6/2/15 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No | Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Anne Megaro |
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Subject: Carbon sequestration: working lands.
SUMMARY :
This bill would define "carbon farming" and "working lands" and
would require the California Department of Food and Agriculture
to establish, should moneys be appropriated, a grant program to
fund projects on working lands that increase carbon
sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING
LAW :
The Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995 requires the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to
establish and oversee an environmental farming program that
provides incentives to farmers whose practices promote the
well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their
habitat. The act also created the Scientific Advisory Panel on
Environmental Farming (Science Panel) to, among other
responsibilities, advise and assist government agencies on these
issues by conducting scientific data reviews and approving and
recommending scientifically valid data. In addition, the
Science Panel is authorized to research, review, and comment on
data used as the basis for proposed environmental policies and
regulatory programs so that agricultural activities are
accurately portrayed. The panel also identifies incentives to
encourage agricultural practices with environmental benefits.
The Strategic Growth Council was created in 2008 as a
cabinet-level committee tasked with coordinating the activities
of member state agencies to improve air and water quality,
protect natural resources and agricultural lands, increase the
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availability of affordable housing, promote public health,
improve transportation, encourage greater infill and compact
development, revitalize community and urban centers, and assist
state and local entities in the planning of sustainable
communities and meeting AB 32 goals. Strategic Growth Council
members include representatives from the Business, Consumer
Services and Housing, Natural Resources, Health and Human
Services, and Environmental Protection agencies; the departments
of Transportation and Food and Agriculture; the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research; and three public members.
The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program
(AHSC), administered by the Strategic Growth Council, was
created in 2014 to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through
projects that implement land use, housing, transportation, and
agricultural land preservation practices. The AHSC program
receives 20% of the annual proceeds from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund to achieve these goals (SB 862 of 2014; Health
and Safety Code § 39719).
The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC)
is one component of the AHSC and is implemented by the
California Department of Conservation (DOC). The Strategic
Growth Council is responsible for overseeing SALC and
coordinating DOC with other agencies to develop program
guidelines.
Guidelines for the SALC program were approved by the Strategic
Growth Council on January 20, 2015, and include three major
elements: 1) sustainable agricultural land strategy plans, which
would provide grants to develop local strategies to ensure
long-term protection of highly productive and critically
threatened agricultural land; 2) agricultural conservation
easements; and 3) financial incentives for adoption and use of
land management practices. The guidelines specifically state
that the third element is not included in the 2014 request for
grant applications but will be addressed in future years.
COMET-FarmTM is an online USDA-Natural Resources Conservation
Service tool developed in partnership with Colorado State
University. COMET-farmTM, shorthand for "CarbOn Management &
Emissions Tool," was created to estimate carbon sequestration
and GHG emissions on individual farms based on various factors
such as soil characteristics, crop production, nutrient
management, water use, and tillage practices. This tool would
help farmers and ranchers calculate their farm's potential for
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storing carbon in agricultural soils and reducing GHG emissions
given specific land management and conservation practices.
Existing law:
1) Establishes the California Farmland Conservancy Program
Act, previously known as the Agricultural Land Stewardship
Program Act of 1995, to encourage voluntary, long-term
private stewardship of agricultural lands by offering
landowners financial incentives (Public Resources Code §
10200 et seq.).
2) Establishes the California Farmland Conservancy Program
Fund for monies sourced from grants, gifts, and donations,
to be used for the purchase of agricultural conservation
easements, fee title acquisition grants, land improvement
and planning grants, technical assistance, technology
transfer, and administrative costs.
3) Requires the Department of Conservation to administer
this program and review grant applications for the
acquisition of agricultural conservation easements or fee
title for agricultural lands.
4) Requires the CDFA, through the Cannella Environmental
Farming Act of 1995, to establish and oversee an
environmental farming program that provides incentives to
farmers whose practices promote the well-being of
ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their habitat.
5) Establishes the Scientific Advisory Panel on
Environmental Farming (Science Panel) to, among other
responsibilities, advise and assist government agencies on
the above issues by conducting scientific data reviews and
approving and recommending scientifically valid data.
6) Establishes in 2008 the Strategic Growth Council as a
cabinet-level committee tasked with coordinating the
activities of member state agencies to, among other things,
improve air and water quality, protect natural resources
and agricultural lands, and assist state and local entities
in the planning of sustainable communities and meeting AB
32 goals.
7) Requires the state Air Resources Board (ARB), through
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the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, to
monitor and regulate sources of greenhouse gas emissions
that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases. Requires ARB to determine the 1990
statewide level of GHG emissions, approve a GHG emissions
limit that is equivalent to that level to be achieved by
2020, and adopt rules and regulations regarding GHG
emissions reductions (AB 32 of 2006; Health and Safety Code
§ 38500 et seq.).
8) Authorizes ARB to utilize market-based compliance
mechanisms to regulate entities subject to GHG emission
limits.
9) Creates the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to
collect all monies, except for fines and penalties, from
the auction or sale of GHG allowances established by the
ARB market-based compliance mechanism and authorizes the
legislature to appropriate monies from this fund
(Government Code § 16428.8).
10) Requires that the GGRF only be used to facilitate the
achievement of reductions of GHG emissions in California,
as specified (Health and Safety Code § 39710 et seq.).
PROPOSED
LAW :
This bill:
1) States findings and declarations in regards to soil and
vegetation management to enhance soil carbon sequestration.
2) Defines "carbon farming" to mean implementing a land
management strategy for the purposes of reducing,
sequestering, and mitigating GHG emissions on working
lands.
3) Defines "working lands" to mean privately owned
agricultural lands, ranches, and rangelands.
4) Requires CDFA, should funds be made available, to
establish a grant program to fund projects on working lands
that increase carbon sequestration and reduce GHG
emissions.
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5) Requires CDFA to prioritize funding for projects that
provide the greatest benefit, including carbon farming and
related co-benefits such as reduced irrigation demand,
increased yield and resiliency, enhanced habitat and
biodiversity, reduced water quality impacts, enhanced soil
structure, and increased soil water-holding capacity.
6) Requires CDFA, in consultation with the Department of
Conservation, the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery, the state Air Resources Board, and the Department
of Water Resources, to develop and adopt project
solicitation and evaluation guidelines.
7) Requires CDFA to quantify the benefits of each project
funded and to post this information on the department's
website.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to those in support, "Carbon farming practices include
compost application, riparian restoration, no-till farming, and
planting windbreaks to reduce soil moisture loss, all of which
help to create long-term carbon sequestration in soils and plant
matter. Through carbon farming, agricultural lands and
rangelands can improve carbon capture and sequestration while
creating additional water, habitat, and economic viability
benefits for farmers and working land managers."
According to the California Cattlemen's Association, "AB 761
will promote further research to determine what management
practices are most effective in sequestering carbon and
determine what practices are most feasible and cost effective to
implement. The ongoing demand for carbon credits in both the
regulatory and voluntary arena drives the need to develop more
specific data relative to agriculture's role in carbon
sequestration."
COMMENTS :
Agriculture and Climate Change. Farmers and ranchers are
uniquely sensitive to the effects of climate change as
agriculture is largely dependent upon weather and the
availability of natural resources. For example, the current
multi-year drought has caused many farmers to fallow fields,
sell livestock due to lack of available grazing, and lay off
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employees due to reduced workload and productivity.
The potential for agriculture to contribute to the mitigation of
climate change by sequestering carbon and reducing GHG emissions
is not fully realized or utilized. Plants absorb CO2 from the
atmosphere and use it to grow, produce fruits and vegetables,
and to also store carbon in the soil. Animals produce manure
that could be used to create energy (through methane digesters),
compost, and several other valuable products, while reducing the
emission of methane and other GHG. Land management practices,
such as drip irrigation, reduced land tilling, nitrogen
management, and the use of cover crops, have been and are
continuing to be adopted to reduce negative effects on the
environment.
Healthy Soils Initiative. In his 2015-16 budget proposal,
Governor Brown included a new "Healthy Soils Initiative" to
increase carbon in soil to improve soil health, agricultural
productivity, soil water-holding capacity, and decreased
sediment erosion. Governor Brown directed CDFA, under its
existing authority provided by the Cannella Environmental
Farming Act, to coordinate with other key agencies to work on
several new initiatives. CDFA has since developed five action
measures: protect and restore soil carbon; identify funding
opportunities, including market development; provide research,
education and technical support; increase governmental
efficiencies to enhance soil health on public and private lands;
and ensure interagency coordination and collaboration.
Marin Carbon Project. The Marin Carbon Project was designed to
demonstrate on-farm practices that enhance carbon sequestration,
land productivity, ecosystem functions, and mitigate climate
change. One component of this project was published in 2013 by
R. Ryals and W.L. Silver in Ecological Applications. This study
applied 1.3 cm ( inch) of compost on grasslands in Marin County
and measured carbon storage in soils over a three-year period.
The authors concluded that a single application of compost
resulted in greater carbon storage over time. AB 761 would fund
projects that demonstrate carbon farming and sequestration;
however, the use of compost is just one of several methods to
achieve these goals. Others include the use of biochar, cover
crops, windbreaks, irrigation practices, and reduced land
tilling.
SB 367(Wolk). This bill is similar to SB 367, currently in the
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Assembly Agriculture Committee, in that it would create a grant
program established by CDFA to fund on-farm projects that
increase soil carbon sequestration and reduce GHG emissions. AB
761 would expand upon the component of SB 367 regarding on-farm
projects that demonstrate soil-building and carbon-sequestration
practices. Should these bills move forward, the respective
authors may wish to harmonize these bills to ensure that they
are not in conflict, for example, using similar terminology,
definitions, and adjacent code sections.
Double-referral. The Senate Rules Committee has double referred
this bill to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality as
the second committee of referral. Therefore, if this measure is
approved by this committee, the motion should include an action
to re-refer the bill to the Senate Committee on Environmental
Quality.
RELATED
LEGISLATION :
SB 367 (Wolk) of 2015, currently in the Assembly Agriculture
Committee, would recast and expand the membership and the duties
of CDFA's Science Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming; would
appropriate $25 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
to CDFA for the establishment of a new grant program to support
on-farm practices that reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon
storage in soil; and would appropriate 2% of the proceeds from
this fund to the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation
Program for these activities.
AB 1826 (Chesbro), Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014. Requires
businesses that generate a specified amount of organic waste per
week to arrange for recycling services.
SB 862 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 36,
Statutes of 2014. Among other provisions, establishes the
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program,
administered by the Strategic Growth Council, to reduce GHG
emissions through projects that implement land use, housing,
transportation, and agricultural land preservation practices.
SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008. Establishes
the Strategic Growth Council to coordinate member state agencies
implementing projects to meet the goals of the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
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AB 32 (Nunez/Pavley et al.), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006.
Establishes the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
Requires ARB to monitor and regulate sources of GHG emissions
that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of GHG,
as specified.
PRIOR
ACTIONS :
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|Assembly Floor: |67 - 11 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |13 - 0 |
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|Assembly Natural Resources Committee: |8 - 1 |
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SUPPORT :
Audubon California
Big Sur Land Trust
California Cattlemen's Association
California Compost Coalition
California Farm Bureau Federation
California League of Conservation Voters
California State Grange
The California Rangeland Trust
California Trout
Californians Against Waste
Carbon Cycle Institute
City and County of San Francisco
Clean Water Action
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Planning and Conservation League
Recology
Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
OPPOSITION :
None received
-- END --
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