SB 1350, as introduced, Wolk. Agricultural lands: greenhouse gases: Healthy Soils 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 in its regulations the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources 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 by the Legislature. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to develop guidance on reporting and quantification methods for state agencies receiving an appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Existing law, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995, requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program to provide incentives to farmers whose practices promote the well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their habitat. The act requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to convene a 5-member Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming, as prescribed, for the purpose of providing advice and assistance to federal, state, and local government agencies on issues relating to air, water, and wildlife habitat, as specified.
This bill would change the number of members on the panel from 5 to 7 members and would require that the secretary appoint 5 members, instead of 3, of these members. The bill would require that, of the members appointed by the secretary, at least 2 members, instead of one, have a minimum of 5 years of training and experience in the field of agriculture, and at least one member have training and experience in on-farm management practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon, or both.
The bill would require the State Air Resources Board to consult with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and the panel in developing the quantification methods to demonstrate and quantify on-farm greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the panel, to establish and oversee a Healthy Soils Program to provide incentives, including loans, grants, research, and technical assistance, or educational materials and outreach, to farmers whose management practices contribute to healthful soils and result in net long-term on-farm greenhouse gas benefits. The bill would require the department to implement the program and quantify greenhouse gas emissions reductions in accordance with the quantification methods developed by the State Air Resources Board and specified funding guidelines. The bill would make $20,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the department to support the Healthy Soils Program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 562 is added to the Food and Agricultural
2Code, to read:
(a) The Legislature further finds and declares all of the
4following:
5(1) California’s agricultural output is larger and more diverse
6than any state in the United States, providing the majority of the
7country’s fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy products. California’s
8agricultural lands and rangelands account for nearly 50 percent of
9the state’s land area.
P3 1(2) Dependent on land and natural resources, California
2agriculture is uniquely vulnerable to climate change, which poses
3a serious threat to California agriculture with rising temperatures,
4increases in extreme weather events, constrained water resources,
5reduced winter chilling hours, and rising sea levels.
6(3) California agriculture also is uniquely positioned to provide
7climate benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Research
8funded by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
9Development Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research
10program finds that some agricultural practices will not only reduce
11greenhouse gas emissions, but they also may help to store carbon
12in soils and trees. Carbon storage is an important strategy to help
13meet the state’s greenhouse gas emissions targets. In addition,
14California’s agricultural lands and rangelands hold the potential
15to sequester millions of metric tons of carbon, resulting in enhanced
16agricultural production and increased resilience to climate change
17and drought.
18(4) Robust, peer-reviewed, published data strongly support the
19hypothesis that on-farm and ranch soil and vegetation management
20can significantly enhance soil carbon
sequestration, resulting in a
21wide range of environmental and agricultural cobenefits, including
22increased water retention in soils, improved water quality, soil
23health, and forage quantity and quality, reductions in greenhouse
24gases, and climate adaptation and resilience.
25(5) Steps taken by those working in California agriculture to
26reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester atmospheric carbon
27can provide other important environmental cobenefits, such as
28improved air and water quality, water conservation, enhanced
29wildlife habitat, and healthier rural communities.
30(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to enhance the
31long-term viability of California agriculture by supporting activities
32that reduce climate change impacts that may negatively impact it
33and the rest of the state.
34(c) It is further the
intent of the Legislature that the department,
35pursuant to this article, support the state’s agricultural sector in
36pursuing on-farm practices and activities that reduce greenhouse
37gas emissions and increase carbon storage in agricultural soils and
38woody biomass.
Section 568 of the Food and Agricultural Code is
40amended to read:
(a) The secretary shall convene abegin delete five-memberend delete
2begin insert seven-memberend insert Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental
3Farming to advise and assist federal, state, and local government
4agencies on issues relating to air, water, and wildlife habitat to do
5the following:
6(1) Review data on the impact that agriculture has on the
7environment and recommend to appropriate state agencies data
8that the panel approves as scientifically valid. A state agency that
9receives data recommended by the panel may adopt and incorporate
10the data into the appropriate program.
If a state agency does not
11utilize the data recommended by the panel, it shall provide the
12panel with a written statement of reasons for not utilizing the data.
13The reasons, at a minimum, shall specify the scientific basis for
14not utilizing the data. The reasons shall be provided within 180
15days of receiving the data from the panel.
16(2) Compile the net environmental impacts that agriculture
17creates for the environment, identified pursuant to paragraph (1).
18(3) Research, review, and comment on data upon which
19proposed environmental policies and regulatory programs are based
20to ensure that the environmental impacts of agricultural activities
21are accurately portrayed and to identify incentives that may be
22provided to encourage agricultural practices with environmental
23benefits.
24(4) Assist government agencies to
incorporate benefits identified
25pursuant to paragraph (1) into environmental regulatory programs.
26(b) Members of the panel shall be highly qualified and
27professionally active or engaged in the conduct of scientific
28research. Of the members first appointed to the panel, two shall
29serve for a term of two years and three shall serve for a term of
30three years, as determined by lot. Thereafter, members shall be
31appointed for a term of three years. The members shall be
32appointed as follows:
33(1) begin deleteThree end deletebegin insertFive end insertmembers shall be appointed by the secretary. At
34leastbegin delete oneend deletebegin insert
twoend insert of these members shall have a minimum of five years
35of training and experience in the field of agriculture and shall
36represent production agriculture.begin insert At least one of the five members
37shall have training and experience in on-farm management
38practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon,
39or both.end insert
P5 1(2) One member, who has a minimum of five years of training
2and experience in the field of human health or environmental
3science, shall be appointed by the Secretarybegin delete of theend deletebegin insert forend insert
4 Environmentalbegin delete Protection Agency.end deletebegin insert
Protection.end insert
5(3) One member, who has a minimum of five years of training
6and experience in the field of resource management, shall be
7appointed by the Secretary of the Resources Agency.
8(c) The panel may establish ad hoc committees, which may
9include professionals or scientists, to assist it in performing its
10functions.
11(d) The panel shall be created and maintained with funds made
12available from existing resources within the department to the
13extent they are available.
14(e) The State Air Resources Board shall consult with the
15secretary and the panel, as appropriate, in developing the
16quantification methods described in subdivision (b)
of Section
1716428.9 of the Government Code as it relates to the demonstration
18and quantification of on-farm greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Section 569 is added to the Food and Agricultural
20Code, to read:
(a) The department, in consultation with the panel, shall
22establish and oversee a Healthy Soils Program. The program shall
23provide incentives, including, but not limited to, loans, grants,
24research, and technical assistance, and educational materials and
25outreach, to farmers whose management practices contribute to
26healthful soils and result in net long-term on-farm greenhouse gas
27benefits. The program may also include the funding of on-farm
28demonstration projects that further the goals of the program.
29(b) The department shall implement the program and quantify
30greenhouse gas emissions reductions in accordance with the
31funding guidelines developed by the State Air Resources Board
32pursuant to Section 39715 of the Health and Safety Code and the
33
quantification methods developed by the State Air Resources Board
34pursuant to Section 16428.9 of the Government Code.
35(c) (1) The sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall
36be made available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from
37the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the department to support
38the Healthy Soils Program.
P6 1(2) The department may also pursue other public and private
2sources to support the Healthy Soils Program.
O
99