BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2715
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2715
(Eduardo Garcia) - As Amended April 7, 2016
SUBJECT: Agricultural Working Poor Energy Efficient Housing
Program
SUMMARY: Establishes the Agricultural Working Poor Energy
Efficient Housing Program (Program) within the Department of
Community Services and Development (CSD) and states legislative
intent to appropriate not less than $50 million from the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to implement the Program.
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 greenhouse gas
(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
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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
the Legislature.
3)Establishes the GGRF Investment Plan and Communities
Revitalization Act to set procedures for the investment of GHG
allowance auction revenues. Authorizes a range of GHG
reduction investments and establishes several policy
objectives, including:
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)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.
5)Establishes the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant
Program, which authorizes the Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD) to provide financing for new
construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of
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owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with
priority given to low income households, including:
a) Homeowner grants for rehabilitation or new home
construction requiring lien restrictions for 20 years;
b) Rental construction grants or loans requiring lien
restrictions for 40 years; and,
c) Rental rehabilitation grants or loans requiring lien
restrictions for 20 years.
6)Tasks CSD with implementing several types of federal
assistance to help low-income households meet their energy
needs, including:
a) The Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides
one-time financial assistance to help offset an eligible
applicant's energy costs;
b) The Energy Crisis Intervention Program, which provides
assistance to low-income households that are in a crisis
situation due to receiving a termination notice or an
energy-related life-threatening emergency, such as a
malfunctioning heater;
c) The Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides
free energy efficiency upgrades to low-income households.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires CSD to develop and administer the Program.
2)States the intent of the Legislature to appropriate not less
than $50 million annually from the GGRF to fund the Program.
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3)Specifies that the Program be used to improve energy
efficiency in farmworker housing, including:
a) Weatherization of homes and other residences;
b) Replacement of energy inefficient appliances with Energy
Star certified appliances;
c) Replacement of lighting with light emitting diode
lighting;
d) Installation of photovoltaic solar panels and solar
water heating systems; and,
e) Installation of battery backups.
4)Specifies that CSD give priority to "the association of
federally designated farmworker organizations" and other
organizations that have a proven track record of assisting
farmworkers.
5)Authorizes CSD to develop requirements, guidelines, and
subgrantee contract provisions for the Program.
6)Requires CSD to:
a) Consult with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in
developing the program in order to avoid duplication with
those energy efficiency programs supervised by the PUC.
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b) No less than 30 days before finalizing the Program
guidelines, post the draft guidelines on CSD's website and
hold a public hearing to obtain public input no less than
15 days "before the hearing."
7)Exempts the development of requirements, guidelines, and
subgrantee contract provisions from Office of Administrative
Law review and approval.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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
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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
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
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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
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
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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,
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
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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
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
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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,
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
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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
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)Farmworker housing and weatherization. CSD has received $154
million from the GGRF for low-income weatherization programs.
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According to the author, CSD efforts to reach farmworkers for
these programs have not been successful. While the farmworker
population was once characterized by its mobility, today it
has become much more stable in the agricultural areas of the
state. Energy consumption in homes owned by farmworkers is
often higher than average, because there are generally larger
numbers of individuals per household. According to the
National Agricultural Workers Survey conducted by the US
Department of Labor, approximately 15% of California's
farmworkers own homes.
According to CalEPA, 39% of all GGRF investments to date,
excluding high speed rail, have been spent on projects located
in disadvantaged communities, and 51% of GGRF spending has
benefitted disadvantaged communities. None has been
specifically targeted to benefit farmworkers. Much of
California's farmworker housing is located in areas identified
by CalEnviroScreen as disadvantaged.
3)Author's statement:
California's 800,000 low-income farmworkers cannot afford
to reduce their reliance on carbon intensive energy
sources. Without additional resources and assistance, it
will be especially difficult for farmworkers, who are very
low-income because of seasonal employment and low wages, to
make the expensive investments in retrofitting homes for
increased energy efficiency, fuel-efficient cars, and other
low carbon infrastructure and/or technologies.
4)Suggested amendments:
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a) According to the author, this bill is intended to
benefit farmworkers who own their own homes; however, the
bill does not limit eligibility to farmworker-owned
housing. The committee may wish to amend the bill to
ensure that grants are directed to farmworker-owned homes.
b) This bill requires CSD to coordinate with PUC in
developing the program. CEC also oversees a variety of
energy efficiency programs. The committee may wish to
amend the bill to require that CSD also coordinate with
CEC.
c) This bill includes a provision that exempts any
requirements, guidelines, or subgrantee contract provisions
from the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). This
exemption is unnecessary. The APA applies to the adoption
of regulations, and should not apply to grant guidelines or
contract provisions. However, should the CSD adopt rules
that trigger the APA, it provides for meaningful public
participation and to ensure that any regulations are clear,
necessary, and legally valid. The committee may wish to
amend the bill to delete this exemption.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Human Development
Center for Employment Training
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Central Valley Opportunity Center, Inc.
Proteus, Inc.
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092