Amended in Assembly March 29, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 10, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2293

Introduced by Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, begin insert Alejo, end insert Eggman, Eduardo Garcia, and Gomez

(Principal coauthor: Senator Leyva)

February 18, 2016

An act to add Part 10 (commencing with Section 44480) to Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2293, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Green Assistance Program.

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 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. Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify disadvantaged communities and requires the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan for the moneys deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

This bill would establish the Green Assistance Program, to be administered by the Secretary for Environmental Protection to, among other things, assist small begin delete businesses, end delete begin insert businesses and end insert small nonprofit begin delete organizations, and small cities end delete begin insert organizations end insert in applying for moneys from programs using moneys from the fund, as specified.

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 both of the
following:

(a) Small begin delete businesses, end delete begin insert businesses and end insert small nonprofit
begin delete organizations, and small cities end delete begin insert organizations end insert often lack the
technical expertise to develop grant and financing options.

(b) For the state to meet its air quality goals, every business and
community must have the same opportunity to compete for funding
that is available to meet those air quality goals.

SEC. 2.  

Part 10 (commencing with Section 44480) is added to
Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

 

PART 10.  Green Assistance Program

 

44480.  

For purposes of this part, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Fund” means the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,
established pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code.

(b) “Secretary” means the Secretary for Environmental
Protection.

begin delete

(c) “Small city” means a city with a population of less than
500,000 as determined by the latest census.

end delete

44481.  

The Green Assistance Program is hereby established
and shall be administered by the secretary. The program shall do
all of the following:

(a) Provide technical assistance, including the development of
competitive project proposals, to small begin delete businesses, end delete begin insert businesses and end insert
small nonprofit begin delete organizations, and small cities end delete begin insert organizations end insert when
applying for an allocation of moneys from the fund.

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(b) Assist small cities in equitably applying for funding to help
mitigate the impacts of poor air quality and help improve the health
of the state’s most disadvantaged communities.

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  Assist small businesses in applying for funding for energy
efficiency upgrades to meet and exceed the greenhouse gas
emission reductions established pursuant to Section 38560.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  Assist small businesses begin delete and small cities end delete in complying with
all applicable federal, state, and local air quality laws.

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(e) Assist small cities to develop plans that would assist the
state in meeting the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit.

end delete begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  Identify state agencies with appropriate grant programs.

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  Coordinate existing local programs to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions with new programs receiving moneys from the fund.

begin delete

(h) Conduct community outreach to residents of small cities
that the state board determines require technical assistance on
consumer programs receiving state or local moneys from the fund
or for other programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Those
programs may include, but are not limited to, programs that also
improve air quality, reduce residential and commercial water use,
and increase residential and commercial energy efficiency.

end delete