BILL NUMBER: AB 2146 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Patterson
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Jones,
Olsen, and Steinorth)
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Section 39719 of the Health and Safety
Code, and to add Section 4599 to the Public Resources Code,
relating to forestry and fire protection.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2146, as amended, Patterson. Forestry and fire protection:
greenhouse gas emissions.
Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire
Prevention to implement various fire prevention programs intended to
protect forest resources and prevent uncontrollable wildfires. The
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires that all
moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air
Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a
market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund and to be available, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for greenhouse gas emissions reduction activities.
This bill would continuously appropriate $200,000,000
from the annual proceeds of the fund to the department for activities
that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state caused by
uncontrolled forest fires. The bill would provide that
an amount not to exceed $200,000,000 from the fund shall be made
available to the department, upon appropriation, for specified
activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state caused
by uncontrolled forest fires. The bill would authorize the
department to use these funds to provide (1) payments to
local governmental entities that carry out fire prevention
activities and activities; (2) incentives for
actions by private parties to reduce the risk or intensity of
wildfires or improve the resiliency of lands prone to
wildfires. wildfires; and (3) funding for the creation
and implementation of partnerships between the department and the
federal government to reduce the risk or intensity of wildfires or
improve the resiliency of federal lands prone to wildfires. The bill
would require the department to develop an accounting system to
demonstrate that each project awarded funding will provide a
long-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and to prioritize and
fund projects based on the extent to which a project will maximize
certain cobenefits, as prescribed.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California continues to experience catastrophic wildfires of a
magnitude previously unknown. Unlike traditional regenerative forest
fires, modern forest fires are extremely destructive with
devastating economic and environmental consequences, including loss
of life and property destruction, job losses, erosion, downstream
drinking water quality degradation, proliferation of nonnative and
invasive species, nonnative species choking out reemerging native
vegetation, soil sterilization, ecosystem destruction, and tremendous
amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.
(b) While the state focuses its climate change efforts on reducing
greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources, it is turning a
blind eye to the equally significant greenhouse gas and short-lived
climate pollutant emissions resulting from forest fires.
(c) The 2015 calendar year brought disastrous fires of high
intensity, including the Rough Fire, which burned over 150,000 acres
over a two-months period, injuring 12 people; the 2015 Valley Fire,
which caused four civilian casualties, four injured firefighters,
over 1,000 destroyed homes, 27 destroyed multifamily structures, and
over 600 other structures destroyed, prompting the declaration of a
major disaster from the President of the United States; and the Butte
Fire that continued for over a month, resulting in two deaths and
destroying 475 homes and over 350 other structures.
(d) The 2013 Rim Fire burned over 250,000 acres over 69 days and
caused hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental
damage; destroyed significant habitat for a number of California's
rarest species; and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting
resources. It is estimated that the Rim Fire released over 11 million
metric tons of greenhouse gases, which is equivalent to the annual
emissions of 2.3 million cars. Experts have attributed the fire's
exponential growth to a century's worth of fuel left behind due to
historical fire suppression policies and practices.
(e) The 2007 Angora Fire resulted in roughly 143,000 tons of
greenhouse gas emissions, or approximately 46.2 tons per acre.
Studies indicate that those emissions could have been lowered to 12
tons per acre if the tree density were reduced from approximately 273
trees per acre to the natural 60 trees per acre level.
SEC. 2. Section 39719 of the Health and Safety
Code is amended to read:
39719. (a) The Legislature shall appropriate the annual proceeds
of the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in
this state in accordance with the requirements of Section 39712.
(b) To carry out a portion of the requirements of subdivision (a),
annual proceeds are continuously appropriated for the following:
(1) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, 35 percent of annual proceeds
are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, for
transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities programs as
follows:
(A) Ten percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency for the
Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2
(commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public
Resources Code.
(B) Five percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Low Carbon Transit Operations
Program created by Part 3 (commencing with Section 75230) of Division
44 of the Public Resources Code. Funds shall be allocated by the
Controller, according to requirements of the program, and pursuant to
the distribution formula in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 99312
of, and Sections 99313 and 99314 of, the Public Utilities Code.
(C) Twenty percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Strategic Growth Council for the
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program created by
Part 1 (commencing with Section 75200) of Division 44 of the Public
Resources Code. Of the amount appropriated in this subparagraph, no
less than 10 percent of the annual proceeds, shall be expended for
affordable housing, consistent with the provisions of that program.
(2) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, notwithstanding Section
13340 of the Government Code, 25 percent of the annual proceeds of
the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the High-Speed Rail
Authority for the following components of the initial operating
segment and Phase I Blended System as described in the 2012 business
plan adopted pursuant to Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code:
(A) Acquisition and construction costs of the project.
(B) Environmental review and design costs of the project.
(C) Other capital costs of the project.
(D) Repayment of any loans made to the authority to fund the
project.
(c) Beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, and notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, two hundred million dollars
($200,000,000) of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection for activities as described in Section 4599 of the Public
Resources Code.
(d) In determining the amount of annual proceeds of the fund for
purposes of the calculation in subdivision (b), the funds subject to
Section 39719.1 shall not be included.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. Section 4599 is
added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
4599. (a) The department shall use moneys appropriated pursuant
to subdivision (c) of Section 39719 of the Health and Safety
Code (f) to fund activities that reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in the state caused by uncontrolled forest
fires, including, but not limited to, vegetation management, forest
overgrowth reduction, and measures to ensure that future fires are
more consistent with the historic regenerative fire regime.
(b) The department shall develop an accounting system to
demonstrate that each project awarded funding pursuant to this
section will provide a long-term reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions.
(c) Any person or entity that receives funding pursuant to this
section for the treatment or thinning of forest land shall use uneven
aged forest management practices for all future timber operations.
(b)
(d) The department may, and is encouraged to, use funds
appropriated pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 39719
of the Health and Safety Code (f) to provide
both all of the following:
(A) Payments to local governmental entities that carry out fire
prevention activities.
(B) Incentives for actions by private parties to reduce the risk
or intensity of wildfires or improve the resiliency of lands prone to
wildfires.
(C) Funding for the creation and implementation of partnerships
between the department and the federal government to reduce the risk
or intensity of wildfires or improve the resilience of lands prone to
wildfires on federal forest lands.
(e) The department shall prioritize and fund projects based on the
extent to which a project will maximize the following cobenefits:
(1) Restoring watershed health and function.
(2) Supporting biodiversity and wildlife adaptation to climate
change.
(3) Revitalizing and sustaining rural economies.
(4) Finding beneficial uses for material removed from the forest.
(5) Improving public safety as part of holistic forest management.
(f) An amount not to exceed two hundred million dollars
($200,000,000) from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, created
pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code, shall be
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement this
section, consistent with the requirements of Section 39712 of the
Health and Safety Code.