BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1815
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1815
(Alejo) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006:
disadvantaged communities
SUMMARY: Requires the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)
Investment Plan to allocate technical assistance funds to the
California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to assist
disadvantaged and low-income communities in developing GHG
reduction project funding proposals. Requires CalEPA to report
on all projects funded by the GGRF, as specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 [AB 32 (Nunez), Chapter
488, Statutes of 2006], to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and
adopt regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible
and cost-effective GHG emission reductions. AB 32 authorizes
ARB to permit the use of market-based compliance mechanisms to
comply with GHG reduction regulations, once specified
conditions are met.
2)Establishes the GGRF and requires all moneys, except for fines
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and penalties, collected by ARB from the auction or sale of
allowances pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism
(i.e., the cap-and-trade program adopted by ARB under AB 32)
to be deposited in the GGRF and available for appropriation by
the Legislature.
3)Continuously appropriates:
a) 10% of the GGRF for the Transit and Intercity Rail
Capital Program;
b) 5% for the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program;
c) 20% for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable
Communities Program; and,
d) 25% for high speed rail.
4)Establishes the GGRF Investment Plan and Communities
Revitalization Act to set procedures for the investment of GHG
allowance auction revenues. Authorizes a range of GHG
reduction investments and establishes several policy
objectives, including:
a) Maximize economic, environmental, and public health
benefits;
b) Foster job creation;
c) Complement efforts to improve air quality;
d) Direct investment toward the most disadvantaged
communities and households in the state;
e) Provide opportunities for businesses, public agencies,
nonprofits, and other community institutions to participate
in and benefit from statewide efforts to reduce GHG
emissions; and,
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f) Lessen the impacts and effects of climate change on the
state's communities, economy, and environment.
5)Requires the investment plan to allocate (1) a minimum of 25%
of the available moneys in the GGRF to projects that provide
benefits to identified disadvantaged communities, and (2) a
minimum of 10% of the available moneys in the GGRF to projects
located within identified disadvantaged communities.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires ARB to allocate funding in the Investment Plan
funding for a technical assistance program and requires CalEPA
to implement the technical assistance program. Specifies that
eligible applicants for technical assistance be located in
disadvantaged communities or in communities with median
incomes that are below 60% of the statewide median income and
include regional agencies and nonprofit organizations
coordinating with local governments.
2)Requires CalEPA to prioritize technical assistance for those
communities based on:
a) Communities having the greatest need for increased
access to programs using moneys appropriated from the GGRF;
b) Communities having a lower demonstrated general capacity
to apply for grant funding;
c) Communities that have not previously applied for and
received grant funding; and,
d) Communities that have previously received grant funding,
ranked by the amount of grant funding per capita received.
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3)Specifies that the technical assistance program include the
following:
a) Identifying state agencies with appropriate grant
programs;
b) Developing competitive project proposals;
c) Coordinate existing local programs to reduce GHG
emissions with new programs receiving money from the GGRF;
and,
d) Conducting community outreach to residents of eligible
communities that CalEPA determines require technical
assistance on consumer programs.
4)Specifies that technical assistance provided pursuant to the
bill must promote programs that reduce GHG emissions and
demonstrate a direct, meaningful benefit to the eligible
communities.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Existing GGRF funding and programs. The 2014-15 Budget Act
allocated GGRF revenues for the 2014-15 fiscal year and
established a long-term plan for the allocation of GGRF
revenues beginning in fiscal year 2015-16. Thirty-five
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percent of GGRF is continuously appropriated for investments
in transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities.
Twenty-five percent is continuously appropriated to continue
the construction of the high-speed rail project. The
remaining 40% is subject to annual appropriation by the
Legislature for investments in programs that include
low-carbon transportation, energy efficiency and renewable
energy, and natural resources and waste diversion. An
expenditure plan for the 40% was not included in the 2015-16
Budget Act, with the exception of $227 million appropriated to
continue funding for specified existing programs. The
remaining 2015-16 revenues, along with 2016-17 revenues, are
available for appropriation this year.
The 2016 Annual Report of Cap and Trade Auction Proceeds
includes an analysis of funds spent within and benefiting
disadvantaged communities, excluding high speed rail spending.
According to the report, 39% of expenditures were for
projects located within disadvantaged communities and 51% of
the overall funding benefited disadvantaged communities.
Listed below are the major GGRF program areas, administering
agency, and funding to date:
a) Transportation and Sustainable Communities
i) High Speed Rail, High Speed Rail Authority
(Authority), $750 million
ii) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program,
Transportation Agency, $225 million
iii) Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), $125 million
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iv) Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities
Program, Strategic Growth Council (SGC), $530 million
v) Low Carbon Transportation, ARB, $325 million
b) Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency
i) Low-Income Weatherization Program, Community
Services and Development (CSD), $154 million
ii) Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings, California
Energy Commission (CEC), $20 million
iii) Agricultural Energy and Operational Efficiency,
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), $75 million
iv) Water-Energy Efficiency, Department of Water
Resources (DWR), $75 million
c) Natural Resources and Waste Diversion
i) Wetlands and Watershed Restoration, Department of
Fish and Wildlife (DFW), $27 million
ii) Urban Forestry, Forest Health Restoration, and
Reforestation, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CalFIRE), $42 million
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iii) Waste Diversion, Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery (CalRecycle), $31 million
The Governor's 2016-17 Budget proposes just under $3.1 billion
in expenditures:
a) Continuous Appropriations
i) High Speed Rail, Authority, $500 million
ii) Low Carbon Transit Operations, State Transit
Assistance, $100 million
iii) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program,
Transportation Agency, $200 million
iv) Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities
Program, SGC, $400 million
b) Fifty Percent Reduction in Petroleum Use
i) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program,
Transportation Agency, $400 million
ii) Low Carbon Road Program, Caltrans, $100 million
iii) Low Carbon Transportation and Fuels, ARB, $500
million
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iv) Biofuel Facility Investments, CEC, $25 million
c) Local Climate Action
i) Transformative Climate Communities, SGC, $100
million
d) Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
i) Black Carbon Woodsmoke and Refrigerants, ARB, $60
million
ii) Waste Diversion, CalRecycle, $100 million
iii) Climate Smart Agriculture - Healthy Soils and Dairy
Digesters, CDFA, $55 million
e) Safeguarding California/Water Action Plan
i) Water and Energy Efficiency, CDFA and DWR, $30
million
ii) Drought Executive Order, CEC, $60 million
iii) Wetlands and Watershed Restoration/CalEcoRestore,
DFW, $60 million
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f) Safeguarding California/Carbon Sequestration
i) Healthy Forests and Urban Forestry, CalFIRE, $180
million
ii) Urban Greening, Natural Resources Agency, $20
million
g) Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy
i) Energy Efficiency for Public Buildings, Department
of General Services, $30 million
ii) California Lending for Energy and Environmental
Needs Center, I Bank, $20 million
iii) Energy Corps, Conservation Corps, $15 million
iv) Energy Efficiency Upgrades/Weatherization,
Department of Community Services and Development, $75
million
v) Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects,
University of California, California State University,
$60 million
2)Author's statement:
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Disadvantaged communities cannot compete with more
advantaged communities when applying for GHG funds, and
thus, may not get the funds they require to improve their
communities. Current law allows for disadvantaged
communities to apply for GHG funds, but does not provide
them with technical assistance to complete a competitive
application due to a lack of managerial and financial
resources. At this time, there is no administrative
avenue, or funds that are available to allow disadvantaged
communities to gain technical assistance to solve this
problem.
3)Disadvantaged communities. In October 2014, CalEPA released
its list of disadvantaged communities based 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. Each of
the programs administering funds from the GGRF have separate
guidelines and grant proposal request documents on their
respective websites. Eligibility criteria and application
processes vary, as do recommendations about working with the
administering agency to develop proposals or applications.
For disadvantaged communities and low-income cities lacking
experience in this area, assistance such as that proposed by
this bill may help them successfully apply for and utilize
available funding.
4)Is technical assistance an allowable use of GGRF funds? It
seems that the expenditure of GGRF for technical assistance
will not directly reduce GHG emissions. In some cases, it may
facilitate projects that reduce GHG emissions. In other
cases, there may be no measureable result. Existing law
prohibits the state from approving allocations for a measure
or program using moneys appropriated from the GGRF except
after determining, based on the available evidence, that the
use of those moneys furthers the regulatory purposes of AB 32
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and is consistent with law; however, current law does allow
ARB and other agencies to use GGRF funds for "administrative
purposes."
5)Suggested amendment. This bill defines "low-income" as
communities with a median income at or below 60% of the
statewide median income. Unfortunately, a statewide
definition inadvertently excludes a large number of low-income
Californians that live in high cost of living areas. In order
to ensure that the threshold for low-income households
accurately identifies low-income households throughout the
state, the committee may wish to amend the bill to specify
that the threshold for low-income can also be determined by
the Department of Housing and Community Development's list of
state income limits, adopted pursuant to Health and Safety
Code section 50093.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Bicycle Coalition
California Climate and Agriculture Network
Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton
Community Water Center
Faith in Community
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
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PolicyLink
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
Trust for Public Land
Valley Clean Air Now
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092