BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1386|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1386
Author: Wolk (D), et al.
Amended: 8/1/16
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/6/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Leno, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/25/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 26-7, 5/9/16
AYES: Allen, Berryhill, Block, De León, Galgiani, Glazer,
Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Beall, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines,
Nielsen, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 45-26, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Resource conservation: working and natural lands
SOURCE: Defenders of Wildlife
DIGEST: This bill declares it to be the policy of the state
that the protection and management of natural and working lands
is an important strategy in meeting the state's greenhouse gas
(GHG) reduction goals. The bill requires all state agencies,
departments, boards, and commissions to consider this policy
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when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations,
expenditures, or grant criteria relating to the protection and
management of natural and working lands.
Assembly Amendments include technical amendments with minor
language revisions, further listings of types of natural and
working lands, and statements that the bill's actions would be
implemented in conjunction with the state's other strategies to
meet its greenhouse gas emission goals, the intent is to promote
the cooperation of owners of natural and working lands, and that
nothing in the bill affects existing local and state agency,
department, commission, or board authorities.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), under the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (also known as AB 32), to
(a) inventory greenhouse gases (GHGs), (b) determine the 1990
statewide GHG emissions level, (c) approve a statewide GHG
emissions limit equivalent to that level to be achieved by
2020, (d) implement regulations that achieve the maximum
technologically feasible and cost-effective reduction of GHG
emissions, and (e) authorize ARB to include market-based
compliance mechanisms, including a cap-and-trade program, in
the AB 32 regulations after considering the potential for
direct, indirect, and cumulative emission impacts from these
mechanisms. (Health and Safety Code §38500 et seq.)
2)Establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), under
the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Investment Plan and
Communities Revitalization Act, for proceeds from the
cap-and-trade program and authorizes moneys from the GGRF for,
among several explicit investment options, "funding to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions associated with water use and supply,
land and natural resource conservation and management,
forestry, and sustainable agriculture." (HSC §39712 (c)(3)).
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This bill:
1) Declares it to be the policy of the state that the protection
and management of natural and working lands, as defined, is a
key strategy in meeting the state's GHG reduction goals.
2) Requires all relevant state agencies, departments, boards,
and commissions to consider this policy, in conjunction with
other relevant state strategies, when revising, adopting, or
establishing policies, regulations, expenditures, or grant
criteria relating to the protection and management of natural
and working lands.
Background
1)Emissions reductions. Over the last decade, California has
built on its history of policies to conserve energy and reduce
air pollution to initiate an effort to reduce its GHG
emissions to lessen the negative impacts of climate change.
Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order S-3-05 specified GHG
emissions reduction targets of 2000 levels by 2010, 1990
levels by 2020, and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. In
2015, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-30-15 that
established an additional intermediate emissions reduction
target of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Because natural and working lands store ("sequester") carbon
from the atmosphere in above- and below-ground plant matter,
this sequestration contributes to net reductions of carbon
emissions. In addition, active sequestration via the
biosphere and through various technological means will
ultimately be necessary to go beyond reducing the addition of
GHGs to actually eliminating carbon dioxide already in the
atmosphere.
The protection and management of natural and working lands has
been recognized as an important part of California's climate
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initiative in reports by both the current and past
administrations. An example of official recognition of the
importance of natural carbon sequestration includes the
state's 2008 Climate Change Scoping Plan: A Framework for
Change.
Although the carbon sequestration function of natural and
working lands is prone to be variable across geographies and
time, a growing body of scientific research is quantifying the
range of carbon sequestration values across natural and
working lands in California and elsewhere.
2)Investment of cap-and-trade proceeds. Proceeds from the
cap-and-trade program are available for appropriations from
the GGRF, with legislative direction for those appropriations
provided by AB 1532 (J. Pérez, Chapter 807, Statutes of 2012),
SB 535 (de León, Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012), and SB 1018
(Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 39, Statutes
of 2012). SB 1018 requires the Department of Finance to
regularly update a three-year investment plan that identifies
feasible and cost-effective GHG emission reduction investments
to be funded from the cap-and-trade auction proceeds. SB 535
requires minimum percentages of spending for
emissions-reducing projects that are specifically located in
and otherwise benefit disadvantaged communities.
Based on the Governor's proposals, the Legislature has
authorized continuous appropriations from the GGRF for a
number of larger infrastructure and smart growth initiatives.
Other proposed appropriations from the GGRF have been decided
within the annual budget setting process. Approximately 11
percent (or $345 million out of $3,090 million) of the
Governor's total proposed GGRF expenditures for 2016-17 were
directed towards managing natural and working lands, as
defined in this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
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According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the bill has
minor, absorbable costs.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/19/16)
Defenders of Wildlife (source)
Association of California Water Agencies
Audubon California
California Central Valley Flood Control Association
California Climate & Agriculture Network
California Releaf
California State Parks Foundation
California Tahoe Alliance
Californians Against Waste
Carbon Cycle Institute
Central Coast Forest Association
City of Gilroy
City of Portola
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
East Bay Regional Park District
Endangered Habitats League
Environment California
Greenbelt Alliance
Institute for Ecological Health
Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California
Mono Lake Committee
Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
National Parks Conservation Association
Ocean Conservancy
Pacific Forest Trust
Placer County
Placer Land Trust
San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District
Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
Save the Redwoods League
Sequoia Riverlands Trust
Sierra Business Council
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Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council
Sierra Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Partnership
Sierra Club California
Sierra Foothill Conservancy
Sierra Institute for Community and Environment
Sierra Nevada Alliance
Sierra Water Workgroup
Southern Sierra Partnership
Tahoe Mountain Sports
Tejon Ranch Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Trust for Public Land
Town of Mammoth Lakes
Town of Truckee
Truckee Donner Land Trust
Rosemarie Smallcombe, Mariposa County Supervisor
Yolo County Board of Supervisors
Yolo Habitat Conservancy
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/19/16)
The Large-Scale Solar Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "The Governor
identified protection and management of natural and working
lands as a significant part of his strategy to reach the state's
2030 emissions target, as these lands can sequester significant
amounts of carbon.
"The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California
Department of Food and Agriculture, California Strategic Growth
Council, and other state bodies have programs in place to reduce
GHG emissions and undertake carbon sequestration on natural and
working lands using GGRF dollars.
"SB 1386 codifies as state policy the Governor's strategy to
protect and manage natural and working lands as a key part of
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the efforts to achieve our climate change goals. The bill also
requires that all relevant state agencies consider this policy
when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations,
expenditures, and grant criteria relating to the protection and
management of natural and working lands.
"Not only will SB 1386 support future investment in carbon
sequestration projects on California's natural and working
lands, it will, at the same time, provide other important public
benefits for all communities including the protection and
enhancement of wildlife habitat, parks, greenways, and open
space; recreational and economic opportunities; production of
food and fiber; improvement of air and water quality; and flood
protection."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Large-Scale Solar Association "is
concerned that the bill [will] have the unintentionally [sic]
impact of elevating the value of natural and working lands above
other GHG-reduction land uses, such as renewable energy
production." They request new language making it clear that
"nothing in the bill is intended to preclude renewable energy
development."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 45-26, 8/18/16
AYES: Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Hadley, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian,
Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez,
Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gatto, Grove, Harper, Jones,
Lackey, Linder, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen,
Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Dababneh, Daly, Frazier, Gray, Roger
Hernández, Kim, O'Donnell, Santiago
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Prepared by:Dan Brumbaugh / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
8/19/16 19:37:22
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