BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2408
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2408
(Eggman) - As Amended March 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
SUMMARY: Directs allocations from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Fund (GGRF) to "integrated greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)
reduction projects" for households in disadvantaged and
low-income communities.
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 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.
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
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the Legislature.
3)Establishes the GGRF Investment Plan and Communities
Revitalization Act (Act) to set procedures for the investment
of GHG allowance auction revenues. Authorizes a range of GHG
reduction investments and establishes several policy
objectives:
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
emissions; and,
f) Lessen the impacts and effects of climate change on the
state's communities, economy, and environment.
4)Specifies that moneys appropriated from the GGRF through
investments that may include funding to reduce GHG emissions
through:
a) Energy efficiency, clean and renewable energy
generation, distributed renewable energy generation,
transmission and storage, and other related actions;
b) The development of state-of-the-art systems to move
goods and freight, advanced technology vehicles and vehicle
infrastructure, advanced biofuels, and low-carbon and
efficient public transportation;
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c) Strategic planning and development of sustainable
infrastructure projects;
d) Investments in programs implemented by local and
regional agencies, local and regional collaboratives, and
nonprofit organizations coordinating with local
governments; and,
e) Funding research, development, and deployment of
innovative technologies, measures, and practices related to
programs and projects funded pursuant to the Act.
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.
THIS BILL:
1)Adds funding to maximize the delivery of integrated GHG
reduction projects, including advanced clean vehicles,
carsharing and vanpools, low-income rooftop solar, energy
efficiency and weatherization, organic waste diversion and
compost development, and drought-tolerant lawn, park, and
urban greening projects for households in low-income and
disadvantaged communities to the list of investment
alternatives under the Act.
2)Defines "grant program" to mean a program receiving an
allocation from the GGRF that provides grants to entities
implementing programs to provide benefits to eligible members
of the public.
3)Requires state agencies that administer grant programs to
update their program guidelines to promote coordination of
grantees implementing regional and neighborhood programs with
other grantees of other grant programs, including those
administered by other state agencies, to encourage:
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a) The use of a single or coordinated application by
grantees to determine the eligibility of a member of the
public for benefits provided by the regional and
neighborhood programs; and,
b) The use of a single mechanism by grantees to report to
the granting agencies on the efficacy of their programs, to
the extent feasible.
4)Requires state agencies that administer grant programs to
update their guidelines to authorize the use of a percentage
of the grant moneys to provide technical assistance to members
of the public in applying for benefits under the grantee's
program.
5)In evaluating projects receiving an allocation from the GGRF,
state agencies shall give priority to projects that
demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics:
a) Coordination with applicants of grant programs,
including grant programs administered by other state
agencies, to maximize the benefits to the public;
b) The ability to leverage additional public and private
funding;
c) The potential for "multibenefits;"
d) The potential for replication of the project;
e) The use of existing regional infrastructure and
institutions; and,
f) The utilization of the services of a state-certified
community conservation corps.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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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.
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), $850 million
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ii) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program,
Transportation Agency, $265 million
iii) Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), $145 million
iv) Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities
Program, Strategic Growth Council (SGC), $610 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
ii) Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings, California
Energy Commission (CEC), $20 million
iii) Climate Smart Agriculture, Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA), $75 million
iv) Water-Energy Efficiency, Department of Water
Resources (DWR), $70 million
c) Natural Resources and Waste Diversion
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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
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,
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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
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
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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
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, CSD, $75
million
v) Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects,
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University of California, California State University,
$60 million
1)Environmental justice. According to the Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), approximately
8 million Californians (21%) live in zip codes that are
considered "highly impacted" by environmental, public health,
and socioeconomic stressors.
Nearly half of all Californians live within six miles of a
facility that is a significant
greenhouse gas emitter (46%), and they are disproportionately
people of color (62%). Throughout California, people of color
face a 50% higher risk of cancer from ambient concentrations
of air pollutants listed under the Clean Air Act. These
impacts are felt by all Californians. ARB estimates that air
pollution exposure accounts for 19,000 premature deaths,
280,000 cases of asthma, and 1.9 million lost work days every
year.
In 2000, legislation [SB 89 (Escutia), Chapter 728] required
the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to
convene the Environmental Justice Working Group and develop an
agency-wide environmental justice strategy. In 2001, follow
up legislation [SB 828 (Alarcon), Chapter 765] established a
timeline for these requirements and required CalEPA to update
its report to the Legislature every three years. In October
of 2004, CalEPA released its Environmental Justice Action
Plan, but did not complete the required updates for a decade.
SB 535 (de León), Chapter 850, Statutes of 2012 requires the
Cap and Trade Proceeds Investment Plan to direct a minimum of
25% of the available moneys in the fund to projects that
provide benefits to identified disadvantaged communities; and,
a minimum of 10% of the available moneys in the fund to
projects located within identified disadvantaged communities.
SB 535 also required CalEPA to identify disadvantaged
communities (i.e., environmental justice communities). In
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order to accurately identify environmental justice
communities, OEHHA, on behalf of CalEPA, created the
California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool
(CalEnviroScreen). CalEnviroScreen is a screening methodology
that can be used to help identify California communities that
are disproportionately burdened by multiple sources of
pollution.
In February of 2014, CalEPA issued an Environmental Justice
Program Update, which included four main areas for future
actions: 1)Increase efforts to eliminate discrimination on
the basis of race, national origin, ethnic group
identification, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, color,
genetic information, or disability in any program or activity
conducted or funded by the state; 2)Develop guidance to
promote a sound legal framework for CalEPA to advance
environmental justice goals and objectives; 3)Lead an
agency-wide working group dedicated to increase compliance
with environmental laws in communities with relatively higher
environmental burdens; and, 4)Add additional indicators to
CalEnviroScreen.
2)Integrating GGRF projects. This bill is intended to require
state agencies to develop systems that will allow grant
applicants to apply for multiple grants and assistance
programs, from multiple state agencies, with a single
application. The author provides an example of an individual
applying for rooftop solar, weatherization, advanced
technology vehicles, tree planting, and water efficiency from
five separate state agencies using one integrated application.
This bill additionally requires state agencies to prioritize
projects based on additional funding options, co-benefits, and
other factors.
3)Author's statement:
This bill would incentivize projects where they are needed,
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and create a more efficient, less costly, and less time
consuming delivery for services. This bill would eliminate
the common barriers that delay or prevent a family from
receiving the benefits of GGRF projects by requiring state
agencies and department delivering GGRF services to promote
and coordinate: 1)Combining multiple GGRF-funded programs
at an individual household; 2)Via a single or coordinated
grant application; 3)Using similar eligibility criteria;
4)The use of a single reporting mechanism for all programs;
and, 5)The inclusion of technical assistance.
In addition to maximizing the amount of GHG reducing
projects completed, AB 2408 would provide priority to
projects with the following characteristics: 1)Ability to
leverage additional public and private funding; 2)Potential
for pollution reduction and public health co-benefits;
3)Potential for replication of the projects; 4)Use of
existing regional infrastructure and institutions; and,
5)Utilization of the services of a state-certified
community conservation corps.
4)Suggested amendments. This bill is intended to require state
agencies that implement grant programs funded by the GGRF to
coordinate their programs to maximize their effectiveness and
so that grantees have access to complementary programs. In
order to ensure that the bill's language reflects its intent,
the committee may wish to amend the bill to make a number of
clarifying and technical amendments, including clarifying the
types of GHG reduction projects that are the focus of
integrated GHG reduction projects for low-income and
disadvantaged communities; establishing a new code section for
subdivision (d) of the bill; specifying that state agencies
shall use grant funds for technical assistance only to the
extent feasible; and, specifying that priority be given to
workforce development programs.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
California Association of Local Conservation Corps
California Vanpool Authority
Central Coast Energy Services
Civicorps
Community Action Partnership of Kern
CSET
Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission
Orange County Conservation Corps
San Joaquin Regional Conservation Corps
Urban Corps of San Diego County
Valley Clean Air Now
Opposition
CalTax
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
AB 2408
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