BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1496 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1496 (Thurmond) As Amended May 6, 2015 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------| |Natural |6-0 |Williams, Cristina | | |Resources | |Garcia, McCarty, | | | | |Rendon, Mark Stone, | | | | |Wood | | | | | | | |----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |12-4 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow, Gallagher, | | | |Calderon, Daly, |Jones, Wagner | | | |Eggman, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Gordon, Holden, | | | | |Quirk, Rendon, | | | | |Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to undertake AB 1496 Page 2 activities and analyses relating to methane gas emissions. Specifically, this bill requires ARB to: 1)Undertake, in consultation with local air districts, monitoring and measurements of high-emission methane hot spots in the state using the best available scientific and technical methods. 2)Carry out a life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission analysis of natural gas produced and imported into the state using the best available scientific and technical methods. 3)Update GHG emission factors for electric generation with natural gas and the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel. 4)Review, in consultation with independent scientific experts, the most recent available scientific data and reports on the atmospheric reactivity of methane as a precursor to the formation of photochemical oxidants and evaluate whether methane should be reclassified as a contributor to the formation of air pollution. EXISTING LAW: 1)Requires ARB, pursuant to California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 488, Statues of 2006), to adopt regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in GHG emissions, including methane. 2)Requires ARB to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), including methane, by January 1, 2016. AB 1496 Page 3 3)Designates ARB as the air pollution control agency responsible for the coordination of the activities of air pollution control districts and air quality management districts for the purposes of the federal Clean Air Act. 4)Requires air districts to adopt and enforce rules and regulations to achieve and maintain the state and federal ambient air quality standards in all areas affected by non-vehicular emission sources under their jurisdiction. 5)Generally prohibits a person from discharging air contaminants or other material that cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance or endanger the comfort, repose, health or safety to any considerable number of persons, or to the public, or that cause, or have a tendency to cause injury or damage to a business or property. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, 1)Increased annual staffing costs of $525,000 and contract costs of $700,000 for ARB to monitor and measure methane hot spots (Cost of Implementation Fund). 2)Increased annual staffing costs of $350,000 and contract costs of $200,000 for ARB to perform natural gas life cycle GHG emissions analyses and update GHG factors for natural gas transportation fuels (Cost of Implementation Fund). COMMENTS: As part of AB 32's direction that ARB adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and adopt AB 1496 Page 4 regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG emission reductions, AB 32 requires ARB to prepare and approve a scoping plan at five-year intervals. The first AB 32 scoping plan, adopted by ARB in 2008, described the specific measures ARB and others must take to reduce statewide GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In May 2014, ARB adopted a scoping plan update. The scoping plan update discusses the objective of achieving an 80% reduction by 2050 and the need for a midterm target, but does not propose or adopt a specific target. According to ARB, the update defines ARB's climate change priorities for the next five years and sets the groundwork to reach California's long-term climate goals. Among its provisions, the update commits ARB to develop a SLCP strategy by 2015 that will include an inventory of sources and emissions, the identification of additional research needs, and a plan for developing SLCP control measures. SB 605 (Lara), Chapter 523, Statutes of 2014, requires ARB to complete a comprehensive SLCP strategy by January 1, 2016. Methane is a gas that is emitted from both natural and human sources. Its concentration in the global atmosphere has more than doubled since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Methane is a SLCP with a lifetime of only about 12 years when released into the atmosphere. It is an extremely potent GHG, with 20 to 30 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period (and more than 80 times over a 20-year period). Methane also impacts local air quality and community health through its participation in the formation of ozone, as well as water vapor, the most powerful of the common causes of warming. Analysis Prepared by: Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: AB 1496 Page 5 0000734