BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1179
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1179
(Rendon) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SUBJECT: California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006:
disadvantaged communities: report
SUMMARY: Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to report on
projects funded in or benefiting disadvantaged communities
pursuant to SB 535.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires ARB, pursuant to California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006 [AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006], to
adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990
levels by 2020 and adopt regulations to achieve maximum
technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG emission
reductions.
2)Authorizes ARB to permit the use of market-based compliance
mechanisms to comply with GHG reduction regulations, once
specified conditions are met.
3)Establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and requires all
moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by ARB from
the auction or sale of allowances pursuant to a market-based
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compliance mechanism (i.e., the cap-and-trade program adopted
by ARB under AB 32) to be deposited in the Fund and available
for appropriation by the Legislature.
4)Establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Investment Plan
and Communities Revitalization Act [AB 1532 (John A. Pérez),
Chapter 807, Statutes of 2012] to set procedures for the
investment of GHG allowance auction revenues. AB 1532
authorizes a range of GHG reduction investments and
establishes several additional policy objectives.
5)Requires the investment plan to allocate: 1) a minimum of 25%
of the available moneys in the fund to projects that provide
benefits to identified disadvantaged communities; and, 2) a
minimum of 10% of the available moneys in the fund to projects
located within identified disadvantaged communities [SB 535
(De Leon), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012].
THIS BILL requires ARB to prepare, and post on its website, a
report on the projects funded pursuant to SB 535. The report
must include:
1)A general description of the project.
2)The location where the project will be implemented.
3)The estimated date of completion of each project.
4)The amount awarded to each project.
5)The status of any moneys in the fund that are not awarded
pursuant to this section and the reasons, if any, why those
moneys have not been awarded.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
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Background. The 2014-15 Budget Act allocates cap-and-trade
revenues for the 2014-15 fiscal year and establishes a long-term
plan for the allocation of cap-and-trade revenues beginning in
fiscal year 2015-16. The Budget continuously appropriates 35
percent of cap-and-trade funds for investments in transit,
affordable housing, and sustainable communities. Twenty-five
percent of the revenues are continuously appropriated to
continue the construction of high-speed rail. The remaining 40
percent will be appropriated annually by the Legislature for
investments in programs that include low-carbon transportation,
energy efficiency and renewable energy, and natural resources
and waste diversion.
SB 535 directed that, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, a quarter of the proceeds from the GGRF must also go
to projects that provide a benefit to disadvantaged communities,
as identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA). A minimum of 10 percent of the funds must be for
projects located within those communities.
In October 2014, CalEPA released its list of disadvantaged
communities for the purpose of SB 535. To inform its decision,
CalEPA relied on the California Communities Environmental Health
Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen), a tool that assesses all
census tracts in California to identify the areas
disproportionately burdened by and vulnerable to multiple
sources of pollution.
Areas (census tracts) identified as disadvantaged for SB 535's
purposes by CalEnviroScreen 2.0 include the majority of the San
Joaquin Valley; much of Los Angeles and the Inland Empire;
pockets of other communities near ports, freeways, and major
industrial facilities such as refineries and power plants; and
large swaths of the Coachella Valley, Imperial Valley and Mojave
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Desert.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Black Health Network (CBHN)
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
AB 1179
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