BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2223 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2223 (Gray) As Amended May 27, 2016 2/3 vote ------------------------------------------------------------------ |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 Page 2 | | |Garcia, Roger | | | | |Hernández, Holden, | | | | |Jones, Obernolte, | | | | |Quirk, Santiago, | | | | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. AB 2223 Page 3 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 AB 2223 Page 4