BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2223
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2223 (Gray)
As Amended May 27, 2016
2/3 vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Natural |8-1 |Williams, Jones, |Mark Stone |
|Resources | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Hadley, | |
| | |Harper, McCarty, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Agriculture |10-0 |Dodd, Mathis, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Gray, | |
| | |Grove, Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, | |
| | |Salas | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
AB 2223
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| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Appropriates $10 million from the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund (GGRF) to the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to fund loans for dairy digesters and other
dairy methane reduction projects and management practices.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill appropriates a one-time expenditure of $10
million to CDFA to fund greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
reductions at dairies. Air Resources Board (ARB) costs are
within existing resources.
COMMENTS: According to the author, ARB's strategy to improve
manure management calls for putting digesters on more than
several hundred dairies in the state. Based on a CDFA estimate,
this bill is intended to provide the funding necessary to
support the development of a widespread manure management
infrastructure.
Short-lived climate pollutants (SCLPs) are GHGs that remain in
the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide, but have a
much greater climate impact. SLCPs include black carbon,
fluorinated gases, and methane, which is the primary GHG emitted
by dairies.
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According to ARB, methane is the principal component of natural
gas and is also produced biologically under anaerobic conditions
in ruminants, landfills, and waste handling. While methane does
not linger in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, it is
over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the first 20
years. ARB identifies dairies as the source of 35% of the
state's methane emissions and pinpoints a number of technologies
and processes that have the potential to greatly reduce dairy
methane emissions.
Dairy digesters are a renewable technology that uses livestock
manure to produce methane, which is a renewable source of
electrical energy generation and transportation fuel. The
technology has many environmental and social benefits. CDFA has
developed the Dairy Digester Research and Development (DDRD)
Program. Eleven million dollars in competitive grant funding
has been, and an estimated $500,000 will be, made available for
research and demonstration projects that improve the economic
performance of dairy digesters in California. Governor Brown's
2016-17 budget proposes $35 million for the DDRD Program.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0003342
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