Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2223

Introduced by Assembly Member Gray

February 18, 2016

An act begin insert to amend Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code, end insert relating to greenhouse gases, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2223, as amended, Gray. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: begin delete manure end delete begin insert dairy end insert digesters.

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 begin delete in regulations implementing the act end delete 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 by the Legislature. begin insert Existing law continuously appropriates 60% of the annual proceeds of the fund for transit, affordable housing, sustainable communities, and high-speed rail purposes. end insert

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Existing law defines a “renewable electrical generation facility” for purposes of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program to include facilities that use, among other renewable energy resources, digester gas.

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This bill would continuously appropriate $100,000,000 annually from the begin delete Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund end delete begin insert fund end insert to the begin delete state board to make manure digester market development payments for electricity produced from California-generated manure by California-based manure digesters. end delete begin insert Department of Food and Agriculture to provide incentives for the implementation of dairy digesters and other dairy methane reduction projects and management practices, thereby making an appropriation. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: end insert

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(a) The State Air Resources Board has embarked on an
ambitious strategy to reduce dairy methane emissions. These
voluntary reductions cannot begin to be achieved unless the state
provides a substantial and ongoing financial commitment to offset
the costs of achieving these reductions.

end insert begin insert

(b) Dairy methane reduction projects are among the most
cost-effective investments the state can make to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.

end insert begin insert

(c) Investments in dairy digesters and other methane reduction
projects on dairies in the state will provide significant greenhouse
gas and short-lived climate pollutant emissions reductions, as well
as all of the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) Significant benefits to disadvantaged communities, as
identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code,
including criteria pollutant reductions, water quality improvements,
and nuisance and odor control.

end insert begin insert

(2) Help in achieving a 50 percent reduction in petroleum use
by replacing diesel with renewable natural gas.

end insert begin insert

(3) Furtherance of the California Sustainable Freight Action
Plan.

end insert begin insert

(4) Substantial clean energy production, including renewable
electricity, renewable natural gas, and renewable carbon-negative
transportation fuel.

end insert begin insert

(5) Increased decarbonization of the state’s natural gas system.

end insert begin insert

(6) Job creation and economic development in
high-unemployment rural communities.

end insert begin insert

(7) Significant greenhouse gas emissions offsets and credit
production pursuant to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulation
(Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Article 4 of
Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17 of the
California Code of Regulations).

end insert begin insert

(8) Significant water quality benefits from advancements in
manure management.

end insert

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 39719 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

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
begin delete years, end delete begin insert year, end insert for transit, affordable housing, and sustainable
communities programs as begin delete following: end delete begin insert follows: end insert

(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. begin delete Funds end delete begin insert Moneys end insert 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 begin delete proceeds, end delete
begin insert proceeds end insert 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.

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(3) Beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, the sum of one hundred
million dollars ($100,000,000) is hereby continuously
appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, to the Department of
Food and Agriculture to provide incentives for the implementation
of dairy digesters and other dairy methane reduction projects and
management practices.

end insert

(c) 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.

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SECTION 1.  

Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, the sum of one hundred million dollars
($100,000,000) annually is hereby continuously appropriated from
the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created pursuant to Section
16428.8 of the Government Code to the State Air Resources Board
to make manure digester market development payments of up to
$____ per kW of electricity produced from California-generated
manure by California-based manure digesters.

end delete