BILL NUMBER: AB 1815 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Alejo
FEBRUARY 8, 2016
An act to amend Section 39713 of, and to add Section 39713.5 to,
the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1815, as introduced, Alejo. California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006: disadvantaged communities.
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 act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based
compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for
fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a
market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing
law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to
identify disadvantaged communities and requires the Department of
Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant
state agency, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan for
the moneys deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Existing
law requires the 3-year investment plan to allocate a minimum of 25%
of the available moneys in the fund to projects that provide benefits
to disadvantaged communities.
This bill would require the state board to prepare and post on its
Internet Web site a specified report on the projects funded to
benefit disadvantaged communities.
This bill would require the state board to establish a
comprehensive technical assistance program, upon the appropriation of
moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, for eligible
applicants, as specified, assisting eligible communities, as defined.
This bill also would require the department to include in the
3-year investment plan an allocation to the state board for that
technical assistance program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
39713. (a) The investment plan developed and submitted to the
Legislature, pursuant to Section 39716, shall allocate a minimum of
25 percent of the available moneys in the fund to projects that
provide benefits to communities described in Section 39711.
(b) The investment plan shall allocate a minimum of 10 percent of
the available moneys in the fund to projects located within
communities described in Section 39711.
(c) The allocation pursuant to subdivision (b) may be, but need
not be, for projects included, in whole or in part, in the set of
projects supported by the allocation described in subdivision (a).
(d) The state board shall prepare and post on its Internet Web
site a report on the projects funded pursuant to this section. The
report shall include all of the following:
(1) A general description of each project.
(2) The location where each 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 those moneys have not been
awarded.
SEC. 2. Section 39713.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
39713.5. (a) For purposes of this section, "eligible communities"
means census tracts identified as disadvantaged pursuant to Section
39711 or with median incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide
median income.
(b) The investment plan developed and submitted to the Legislature
pursuant to Section 39716 shall allocate from the available moneys
in the fund technical assistance moneys to the state board to
implement this section. That allocation of technical assistance
moneys shall not be used to satisfy the requirements of subdivisions
(a) and (b) of Section 39713.
(c) (1) Upon an appropriation of moneys from the fund, the state
board shall establish a comprehensive technical assistance program
for eligible applicants assisting eligible communities that the state
board determines require technical assistance in accessing programs
allocated moneys appropriated from the fund.
(2) Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, regional
agencies and nonprofit organizations coordinating with local
governments.
(3) (A) The state board, in consultation with the California
Environmental Protection Agency and agencies that administer programs
using moneys appropriated from the fund, shall develop guidelines to
implement this program consistent with this section.
(B) The state board shall provide an opportunity for public
comment prior to finalizing the guidelines.
(d) The state board shall prioritize technical assistance for
those communities demonstrating the greatest need for increased
capacity to access programs using moneys appropriated from the fund.
(e) The program established pursuant to this section shall provide
assistance to eligible applicants with any of the following:
(1) Identifying state agencies with appropriate grant programs.
(2) Developing competitive project proposals to apply for moneys
available through state agencies or pursuant to this chapter.
(3) Coordinating existing local programs to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions with new programs receiving moneys pursuant to this
chapter.
(4) Conducting community outreach to residents of eligible
communities that the state board determines require technical
assistance on consumer programs receiving state or local moneys
pursuant to this chapter or for other programs that reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
(f) Technical assistance provided pursuant to this section shall
promote programs that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and
demonstrate a direct, meaningful benefit to eligible communities.
Cobenefits of these programs may include, but are not limited to,
improved air quality, improved water quality, improved public health,
increased access to employment in clean energy, increased access to
affordable housing and transit, reduced residential and commercial
water use, and increased residential and commercial energy
efficiency.