BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2146
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2146
(Patterson) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: Forestry and fire protection: greenhouse gas
emissions
SUMMARY: Requires $200 million annually to be continuously
appropriated from Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) for
activities that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Specifies activities eligible for funding including vegetation
management, forest overgrowth reduction, and measures to ensure
that future fires are more consistent with the historic
regenerative fire regime.
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.
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2)Establishes the GGRF and requires all moneys, except for fines
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
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emissions; and,
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.
6)Requires a state responsibility area (SRA) fire prevention fee
(fee) on every habitable structure in the SRA. Requires fee
to be deposited in the SRA Fire Prevention Fund, which is
available to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board)
and CAL FIRE to expend for fire prevention activities that
benefit the owners of structures within the SRA. Limits fire
prevention activities to the following:
a) Local assistance grants established by the Board;
b) Grants to Fire Safe Councils, the California
Conservation Corps, or certified local conservation corps
for fire prevention projects and activities in the SRA;
c) Grants to a qualified nonprofit organization with a
demonstrated ability to satisfactorily plan, implement, and
complete a fire prevention project applicable to the SRA;
d) Inspections by CAL FIRE for compliance with defensible
space requirements around structures in the SRA;
e) Public education to reduce fire risk in the SRA;
f) Fire severity and fire hazard mapping by CAL FIRE in the
SRA; and,
g) Other fire prevention projects in the SRA that are
authorized by the Board.
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7)Declares the intent of the Legislature that the Board, CAL
FIRE, and ARB should strive to go beyond the status quo
sequestration rate and ensure that their policies and
regulations reflect the unique role forests play in combating
climate change.
8)Allows CAL FIRE to enter into agreements and make grants and
take other actions to develop Program Timberland Environmental
Impact Reports (PTEIR) for carbon sequestration and fuel
reduction programs to encourage forest resource improvements
and otherwise facilitate good timberland management through a
program of financial and technical assistance.
9)Authorizes funds in Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration
Fund to be spent for fuel treatment grants and grants to local
agencies responsible for fire protection, qualified
nonprofits, recognized tribes, local and state governments,
and resources conservation districts, undertaken on a SRA or
on wildlands not in a SRA that pose a threat to the SRA.
Grants are required to reduce the costs of wildland fire
suppression, reduce GHG emissions, promote adaptation of
forested landscapes to changing climate, improve forest
health, and protect homes and communities.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires, starting in the 2016-17 fiscal year, $200 million to
be continuously appropriated from GGRF to CAL FIRE for
activities that reduce GHG emissions.
2)Requires CAL FIRE to fund activities that include, but are not
limited to, vegetation management, forest overgrowth
reduction, and measures to ensure that future fires are more
consistent with the historic regenerative fire regime.
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3)Allows and encourages CAL FIRE to provide both the following:
a) Payments to local governmental entities that carry out
fire prevention activities; and,
b) Incentives for actions by private parties to reduce the
risk or intensity of wildfires or improve the resiliency of
lands prone to wildfires.
FISCAL EFFECT: Continuously appropriates $200 million from
GGRF.
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
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.
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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
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
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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
(CAL FIRE), $42 million
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
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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
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
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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
f) Safeguarding California/Carbon Sequestration
i) Healthy Forests and Urban Forestry, CAL FIRE, $180
million
ii) Urban Greening, Natural Resources Agency, $20
million
g) Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy
i) Energy Efficiency for Public Buildings, Department
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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
1)Background. California is facing a tree mortality crisis. On
October 30, 2015, Governor Brown issued a proclamation of a
state of emergency and sent a letter to the Secretary of the
United States Department of Agriculture urging federal support
and partnership to address the tree mortality crisis. Experts
predict that an estimated 29 million trees are dead and many
more are likely to die by the end of the year due to
wildfires, drought, disease, and climate change.
Approximately one-third (or 33 million acres) of California's
land is classified as forests. Federal agencies, including
the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and
National Park Service, own and manage 57% (or 19 million
acres) of those forests. Forests provide many important
functions for the state.
California's forests face many threats, including, wildfires,
drought, disease, climate change, and forest conversion. In
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2015, there were 8,397 fires in California that burned 846,895
acres. The major fires of 2015 included the Rough (151, 623
acres), Valley (76,067 acres), and Butte (70,868 acres) fires.
These three fires destroyed thousands of homes and caused the
deaths of ten people. The Valley and Butte fire destruction
alone caused an estimated $1 billion in insurance claims. The
cost of the state effort to fight these fires is over a half a
billion dollars of general fund expenditures, which is in
addition to over $1 billion of budgeted General Fund spending
for CAL FIRE.
A century of fire suppression has increased the density of
California's forests and reduced the size of trees. In 2013,
a team of University of California, Berkeley researchers were
surveying and conducting research in the Stanislaus National
Forest when the Rim Fire broke out, and they were required to
evacuate. Prior to their evacuation, they discovered as many
as 400 trees per acre on the land. In 1911, the land had
between 60 and 90 trees per acre. Researchers also found
between 30 and 40 tons of woody debris per acre on the forest
floor, compared with six to eight tons 102 years ago. In
addition to the dramatic increase in tree density, the
researchers found more undergrowth species, and while there
were still old-growth trees, the average size of the trees was
smaller than in 1911. California has also lost many of its
old growth trees to logging. Larger trees are a more secure
way to store carbon because they are more resilient to
disturbances such as drought and fire. Climate change looms
as a threat to California's forests because it will increase
the likelihood of conditions that lead to tree mortality. The
study titled, "Flammable Planet: Wildfires and the Social
Cost of Carbon," claims that by 2085 California could
experience a 36% to 74% increase in area burned by wildfires
under a high GHG emissions path.
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California's forests are not only susceptible to the effect of
climate change but are also contributing to emissions.
According to ARB's Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Strategy,
wildfires are now the single largest source of black carbon
emissions in California, representing 66% of black carbon
emissions in 2013. Black carbon or soot is a major
contributor to climate change. Dead, decaying, and dying
trees have been shown to emit GHGs reducing the carbon storage
capacity of the wood. Recent studies have put into question
whether California forests are net carbon sinks or emitters,
which will impact California's GHG reduction goals.
2)Forest Carbon Plan (Plan) and Budget Change Proposal (BCP).
In August of 2014, the Forest Climate Action Team (FCAT) was
assembled with the primary purpose of developing a Plan by the
end of 2016 to address both GHG emissions from forests and the
impacts of climate change on California's forests. On March
6, 2016 FCAT released a draft Plan and held two public
workshops on the Plan. The FCAT's vision statement is "The
Forest Carbon Plan will provide forest carbon targets and an
array of strategies to promote healthy wildland and urban
forests that protect and enhance forest carbon and the broader
range of forest environmental services for all forests in
California."
The Governor's 2016-17 budget includes a BCP to spend $30
million for urban and community forestry, $10 million for the
Forest Legacy Program, and $140 million from the GGRF for a
comprehensive forest health program to further secure forest
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carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These forest
health programs will focus on landscape-scale projects in high
risk fire areas. The BCP includes trailer bill language
authorizing CAL FIRE to provide grants and enter in to
contract or other cooperative agreements. It also indicates
that all statutory and program requirements will be followed.
3)AB 2146. Both the BCP and this bill call for projects that
remove trees and surface fuels. Once this material is removed,
it stops sequestering carbon and is often incinerated either
in open piles or in a biomass facility. This initial
treatment increases GHG emissions. However, treated forests
protect the remaining trees from wildfires, drought, and
disease. There is much academic debate about when a fuel
treatment will break even and start reducing GHG emissions.
Benefits may be variable depending on whether the forest is
subject to a fire, drought, or infestation. In addition,
timber operations may remove all of the trees that were
offsetting the initial treatment. While the BCP trailer bill
language and this bill would require CAL FIRE to demonstrate
its project reduces GHG emissions, there are no requirements
on how to develop the accounting methodology. The author and
committee may wish to amend the bill to require CAL FIRE to
develop an accounting system for projects to demonstrate each
project provides long-term carbon gains. The author and
committee may wish to also amend the bill to require any
funding recipient to utilize only uneven aged management to
preserve some of the larger trees on the landscape.
CAL FIRE has only funded three fuel treatment projects with
GGRF. These projects cost less than $2 million combined.
There does not seem to be enough of a track record to support
a continuous appropriation for these projects. Continuous
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appropriations diminish the Legislature's ability to oversee
and adjust a program during each budget cycle. The author and
committee may wish to amend the bill to remove the continuous
appropriation.
In California, a majority of forested land is owned by the
federal government. Federal lands are usually untreated and
have not seen natural fire for a significant period.
Wildfires that start on federal land can spread to nonfederal
lands and put private property and lives in danger.
California has attempted to partner with the federal
government to spend state dollars to leverage federal
resources to treat federal forestland in key areas. The
author and committee may wish to amend the bill to allow
partnerships with the federal government.
Besides either emitting or sequestering carbon forests provide
many important co-benefits. Forests provide high quality
habitat for thousands of plant and animal species, including
many endangered species. Coastal forests play a vital role
maintaining California's salmon population. Forests provide
clean air benefits. They also play an important function in
California watersheds by improving water quality and
controlling runoff. California forests provide a variety of
outdoor recreation and educational opportunities. Many people
in rural communities are employed in the forest products
industry or tourism industry supported by forests. The author
and committee may wish to may wish to prioritize projects that
maximize these co-benefits.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Madera County Supervisor Rick Farinelli
Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler
Rural County Representatives of California
Opposition
California Chamber of Commerce
CalTax
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Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092