BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1179
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1179 (Rendon) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
AB 1179
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This bill requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to prepare and
post on its website a report on AB 32 Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Fund (GGRF) projects funded in or benefiting disadvantaged
communities pursuant to existing law. The report must include:
1)A general description of the project.
2)The location where the project will be implemented
3)The estimated completion date of each project.
4)The amount awarded to each project from the GGRF.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Increased costs of $200,000 for ARB (GGRF) to collect data and
make it available in a format consistent with the reporting
requirements.
Data collected by the agencies cover a diversity of project
types with a wide variety of information and formats. The new
tasks specific to this bill include:
1)Identifying data for 14 GGRF agencies, more than 40
sub-programs, hundreds of project types, and thousands of
individual projects and mapping individual projects.
2)Verifying that each project meets the SB 535 criteria and is a
benefit to a disadvantaged community.
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3)Posting GGRF projects benefitting disadvantaged communities
and their status on ARB's website.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The purpose of this bill is to increase transparency
and public access to information regarding the funding of
projects in disadvantaged communities from AB 32 cap-and-trade
revenues.
2)Background. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (AB 32) requires ARB to adopt: a) statewide GHG
emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020; and b)
regulations, including market-based compliance mechanisms, to
achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective
GHG emission reductions.
As part of the implementation of AB 32 market-based compliance
measures, ARB adopted a cap-and-trade program that caps the
allowable statewide emissions and provides for the auctioning
of emission credits, the proceeds of which are quarterly
deposited into the GGRF available for appropriation by the
Legislature.
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% 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
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high-speed rail. The remaining 40% 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 (De León), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012, requires no
less than 10% of cap-and-trade revenues fund projects located
within disadvantaged communities, and that 25% of available
revenues fund projects that benefit those communities.
3)Current Reporting. ARB currently develops an annual report
that provides a program-level status of GGRF appropriations
and disadvantaged community benefits achieved by each State
agency. The report does not include individual project-level
information.
ARB has requested approval from the California Technology
Agency (CTA) to develop and implement an information
technology system that would track individual GGRF funded
projects implemented by State agencies and would include a
public interface that includes the information requested in
this bill.
Once ARB receives approval of the GGRF project tracking system
from CTA, the project tracking system is expected to be
operational within two years.
This bill would require ARB to work with administering
agencies to define manual reporting and data capture processes
while the project tracking system is still under development.
The author may wish to amend this bill to require program
related reporting.
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Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081