BILL NUMBER: AB 1324 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 38501 Sections
38501 and 38505 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
greenhouse gases.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1324, as amended, Williams. California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006.
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 and to adopt rules and
regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum,
technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions
reductions. The act makes various findings and declarations. T
he act defines various terms, including "statewide
greenhouse gas emissions limit," for purposes of the act.
This bill would make changes to those findings and declarations.
The bill would revise the definition of "statewide greenhouse
gas emissions limit."
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 38501 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
38501. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Global warming poses a serious threat to the economic
well-being, public health, natural resources, and the environment of
California. The potential adverse impacts of global warming include
the exacerbation of air quality problems, a reduction in the quality
and supply of water to the state from the Sierra snowpack, a rise in
sea levels resulting in the displacement of thousands of coastal
businesses and residences, damage to marine ecosystems and the
natural environment, and an increase in the incidences of infectious
diseases, asthma, and other human health-related problems.
(b) Global warming will have detrimental effects on some of
California's largest industries, including agriculture, wine,
tourism, skiing, recreational and commercial fishing, and forestry.
It will also increase the strain on electricity supplies necessary to
meet the demand for summer air-conditioning in the hottest parts of
the state.
(c) California has long been a national and international leader
on energy conservation and environmental stewardship efforts,
including the areas of air quality protections, energy efficiency
requirements, renewable energy standards, natural resource
conservation, and greenhouse gas emission standards for passenger
vehicles. The program established by this division will continue this
tradition of environmental leadership by placing California at the
forefront of national and international efforts to reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases.
(d) National and international actions are necessary to fully
address the issue of global warming. However, action taken by
California to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases will have
far-reaching effects by encouraging other states, the federal
government, and other countries to act.
(e) By exercising a global leadership role, California will also
position its economy, technology centers, financial institutions, and
businesses to benefit from national and international efforts to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. More importantly, investing in
the development of innovative and pioneering technologies will assist
California in achieving the statewide limits on emissions of
greenhouse gases established by this division for 2020 and beyond and
will provide an opportunity for the state to take a global economic
and technological leadership role in reducing emissions of greenhouse
gases.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air
Resources Board coordinate with state agencies, as well as
and consult with the environmental justice
community, industry sectors, business groups, academic institutions,
environmental organizations, and other stakeholders, in implementing
this division.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air
Resources Board consult with the Public Utilities Commission in the
development of emissions reduction measures, including limits on
emissions of greenhouse gases applied to electricity and natural gas
providers regulated by the Public Utilities Commission in order to
ensure that electricity and natural gas providers are not required to
meet duplicative or inconsistent regulatory requirements.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air
Resources Board design emissions reduction measures to meet the
statewide emissions limits for greenhouse gases established pursuant
to this division in a manner that minimizes costs and maximizes
benefits for California's economy, improves and modernizes California'
s energy infrastructure and maintains electric system reliability,
maximizes additional environmental and economic co-benefits for
California, and complements the state's efforts to improve air
quality.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Climate Action
Team established by the Governor to coordinate the efforts set forth
under Executive Order S-3-05 continue its role in coordinating
overall climate policy.
SEC. 2. Section 38505 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
38505. For the purposes of this division, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(a) "Allowance" means an authorization to emit, during a specified
year, up to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.
(b) "Alternative compliance mechanism" means an action undertaken
by a greenhouse gas emission source that achieves the equivalent
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over the same time period as a
direct emission reduction, and that is approved by the state board.
"Alternative compliance mechanism" includes, but is not limited to, a
flexible compliance schedule, alternative control technology, a
process change, or a product substitution.
(c) "Carbon dioxide equivalent" means the amount of carbon dioxide
by weight that would produce the same global warming impact as a
given weight of another greenhouse gas, based on the best available
science, including from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change.
(d) "Cost-effective" or "cost-effectiveness" means the cost per
unit of reduced emissions of greenhouse gases adjusted for its global
warming potential.
(e) "Direct emission reduction" means a greenhouse gas emission
reduction action made by a greenhouse gas emission source at that
source.
(f) "Emissions reduction measure" means programs, measures,
standards, and alternative compliance mechanisms authorized pursuant
to this division, applicable to sources or categories of sources,
that are designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
(g) "Greenhouse gas" or "greenhouse gases" includes all of the
following gases:
(1) Carbon dioxide.
(2) Methane.
(3) Nitrous oxide.
(4) Hydrofluorocarbons.
(5) Perfluorocarbons.
(6) Sulfur hexafluoride.
(7) Nitrogen trifluoride.
(h) "Greenhouse gas emissions limit" means an authorization,
during a specified year, to emit up to a level of greenhouse gases
specified by the state board, expressed in tons of carbon dioxide
equivalents.
(i) "Greenhouse gas emission source" or "source" means any source,
or category of sources, of greenhouse gas emissions whose emissions
are at a level of significance, as determined by the state board,
that its participation in the program established under this division
will enable the state board to effectively reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and monitor compliance with the statewide greenhouse gas
emissions limit.
(j) "Leakage" means a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases
within the state that is offset by an increase in emissions of
greenhouse gases outside the state.
(k) "Market-based compliance mechanism" means either of the
following:
(1) A system of market-based declining annual aggregate emissions
limitations for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse
gases.
(2) Greenhouse gas emissions exchanges, banking, credits, and
other transactions, governed by rules and protocols established by
the state board, that result in the same greenhouse gas emission
reduction, over the same time period, as direct compliance with a
greenhouse gas emission limit or emission reduction measure adopted
by the state board pursuant to this division.
(l) "State board" means the State Air Resources Board.
(m) "Statewide greenhouse gas emissions" means the total annual
emissions of greenhouse gases in the state, including all emissions
of greenhouse gases from the generation of electricity delivered to
and consumed in California, accounting for transmission and
distribution line losses, whether the electricity is generated in
state or imported. Statewide emissions shall be expressed in tons of
carbon dioxide equivalents.
(n) "Statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit" or "statewide
emissions limit" means the maximum allowable level of statewide
greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, 2020 and
beyond, as determined by the state board pursuant to Part 3
(commencing with Section 38550).