Amended in Senate June 1, 2015

Amended in Senate April 23, 2015

Amended in Senate April 6, 2015

Senate BillNo. 400


Introduced by Senator Lara

February 25, 2015


An act to amend Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 400, as amended, Lara. California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

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 state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020. 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 from the auction or sale of allowances 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 makes a specified continuous appropriation to the High-Speed Rail Authority from the fund.

This bill would require the High-Speed Rail Authority to allocate not less than 25% of the moneys continuously appropriated to the authority from the fund tobegin delete environmental mitigation measures and projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sourcesend deletebegin insert projects that either reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions directly associated with the construction of the high-speed rail projectend insert and provide a cobenefit of improving air quality. The bill would require priority to be given within this expenditure category to measures and projects that are located in communities in areas designated as extreme nonattainment. The bill would expand the purposes of a continuous appropriation, thereby making an appropriation.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code is
2amended to read:

3

39719.  

(a) The Legislature shall appropriate the annual
4proceeds of the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas
5emissions in this state in accordance with the requirements of
6Section 39712.

7(b) To carry out a portion of the requirements of subdivision
8(a), annual proceeds are continuously appropriated for the
9following:

10(1) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and notwithstanding
11Section 13340 of the Government Code, 35 percent of annual
12proceeds are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal
13years, for transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities
14programs as following:

15(A) Ten percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
16continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency for the
17Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2
18(commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public
19Resources Code.

20(B) Five percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
21continuously appropriated to the Low Carbon Transit Operations
22Program created by Part 3 (commencing with Section 75230) of
23Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. Moneys shall be
24allocated by the Controller, according to requirements of the
25program, and pursuant to the distribution formula in subdivision
26(b) or (c) of Section 99312 of, and Sections 99313 and 99314 of,
27the Public Utilities Code.

P3    1(C) Twenty percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
2continuously appropriated to the Strategic Growth Council for the
3Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program created
4by Part 1 (commencing with Section 75200) of Division 44 of the
5Public Resources Code. Of the amount appropriated in this
6subparagraph, no less than 10 percent of the annualbegin delete proceeds,end delete
7begin insert proceedsend insert shall be expended for affordable housing, consistent with
8the provisions of that program.

9(2) (A) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, notwithstanding
10Section 13340 of the Government Code, 25 percent of the annual
11proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the
12High-Speed Rail Authority and shall be allocated for the following
13components of the initial operating segment and Phase I Blended
14System as described in the 2012 business plan adopted pursuant
15to Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code:

16(i) Acquisition and construction costs of the project.

17(ii) Environmental review and design costs of the project.

begin delete

18(iii) Environmental mitigation measures and projects that reduce
19greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources and provide
20a cobenefit of improving air quality.

end delete
begin insert

21(iii) Projects that either reduce or offset greenhouse gas
22emissions directly associated with the construction of the
23high-speed rail project and provide a cobenefit of improving air
24quality.

end insert

25(iv) Other capital costs of the project.

26(v) Repayment of any loans made to the authority to fund the
27project.

28(B) The High-Speed Rail Authority shall allocate not less than
2925 percent of the moneys appropriated pursuant to subparagraph
30(A) for the purposes of clause (iii) of subparagraph (A). Priority
31for allocating funding for those purposes shall be given to measures
32and projects in communities that are located in areas designated
33as extreme nonattainment.

34(C) Measures and projects eligible for funding pursuant to clause
35(iii) of subparagraph (A) may include, but are not limited to, the
36following:

37(i) Public transit improvements that reduce congestion by
38improving transit service or frequency of transit service.

39(ii) Transportation improvements that reduce congestion,
40including network improvements and roadway modifications.

P4    1(iii) Alternative transportation options, including infrastructure
2improvements that support clean transportation, facilitate bicycle
3and pedestrian use, and connect bicycle and pedestrian routes to
4transit facilities.

5(iv) Natural systems, including rural and urban forests, that
6reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase the sequestration of
7carbon to mitigate the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and
8create greater climate resiliency.

9(v) begin deleteReduction of emissions directly associated with construction
10of the high-speed rail project, including the end delete
begin insertThe end insertuse of low and
11zero-emission equipment for transportation and construction.

12(c) In determining the amount of annual proceeds of the fund
13for the purposes of the calculation in subdivision (b), the moneys
14subject to Section 39719.1 shall not be included.



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