BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1425
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1425 (Pavley)
As Amended August 17, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 26-11
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Natural |9-0 |Williams, Jones, | |
|Resources | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Hadley, Harper, | |
| | |McCarty, Mark Stone, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Appropriations |11-4 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Jones, Obernolte |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, Wood, | |
| | |McCarty | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 1425
Page 2
SUMMARY: Requires the California Environmental Protection
Agency (CalEPA) to develop a registry of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions resulting from the water-energy nexus.
EXISTING LAW, under the California Global Warming Solutions Act
of 2006 (AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 488):
1)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to determine the 1990
statewide GHG emissions level and approve a statewide GHG
emissions limit that is equivalent to that level to be
achieved by 2020.
2)Requires the ARB to adopt regulations to require the reporting
and verification of statewide GHG emissions and requires those
regulations, where appropriate and to the maximum extent
feasible, to incorporate the standards and protocols developed
by the California Climate Action Registry.
3)Specifies that entities that voluntarily participated in the
California Climate Action Registry prior to December 31, 2006,
and have developed a GHG emissions reporting program, are not
required to significantly alter their reporting or
verification program, except as necessary to ensure complete
and accurate reporting.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires CalEPA, in consultation with other relevant state
agencies and through a public stakeholder process, to develop
and administer a registry of GHG emissions resulting from the
water-energy nexus using the best available data.
SB 1425
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2)States that participation in the registry is voluntary and
open to any entity conducting business in the state.
Authorizes a participating entity to register its emissions,
including emissions generated outside the state, or an
entity-wide basis and to use the services of the Registry.
3)Authorizes CalEPA to enter into a contract with a qualified
nonprofit organization to develop and implement the registry.
4)Requires CalEPA or the nonprofit organization to:
a) Help participating entities establish emissions
baselines;
b) Encourage voluntary actions to increase water and energy
efficiency measures to reduce the carbon intensity of the
state's water system;
c) Enable participating entities to record voluntary
entity-wide GHG emissions reductions in a consistent format
that is supported by third-party verification;
d) Recognize, publicize, and promote participating entities
making voluntary reductions of GHG emissions;
e) Recruit broad participation in the registry from all
economic sectors and regions in the state; and,
f) Facilitate streamlined data reporting for relevant
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entities already reporting to the Climate Registry.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill has annual ongoing costs of approximately
$130,000 for CalEPA to oversee the development of the registry
(General Fund or special fund). CalEPA estimates annual
contracting costs of $250,000 for three years or more (General
Fund or special fund).
COMMENTS: SB 1771 (Sher), Chapter 1018, Statutes of 2000,
required the Secretary of the Resources Agency to establish the
California Climate Action Registry as a public benefit nonprofit
corporation that would record and register voluntary GHG
emission reductions made by California entities after 1990. The
bill required the registry to perform various functions,
including adopting standards for verifying emissions reductions;
adopting a list of approved auditors that would verify emissions
reductions; establishing emissions reduction goals; designing
and implementing efficiency improvement plans; maintaining a
record of all emissions baselines and reductions; and,
recognizing, publicizing, and promoting entities that
participate in the registry. SB 1771 established a governing
board comprised of the Secretary of the Resources Agency, the
Secretary of Environmental Protection, and five public members
appointed by the Governor.
The California Climate Action Registry was required to, among
other things: 1) help various entities in the state to
establish emissions baselines; 2) encourage voluntary actions to
increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions; 3) enable
participating entities to record voluntary GHG emissions
reductions made after 1990 in a consistent format that is
supported by third-party verification; 4) ensure that sources in
the state receive appropriate consideration for verified
emissions reductions under any future federal regulatory regime
relating to GHG emissions; 5) recognize, publicize, and promote
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registrants making voluntary reductions; and, 6) recruit broad
participation in the process from all economic sectors and
regions of the state.
The California Climate Action Registry closed in December 2010.
The Climate Registry formed as the successor agency to the
California Climate Action Registry. The Climate Registry is a
nonprofit organization, whose board of directors comprises over
50 representatives from United States (U.S.) states and Canadian
provinces and territories. It offers tools and services for
organizations to measure, verify, and report the carbon in their
operations. This bill is modeled after the California Climate
Action Registry.
According to the California Energy Commission (CEC),
water-related energy use in California consumes approximately
20% of the state's electricity and 30% of the state's non-power
plant natural gas (i.e., natural gas not used to produce
electricity). The water sector uses electricity to pump, treat,
transport, deliver, and heat water. CEC also found that the
most energy intensive uses of water in California are associated
with end uses by the customer (e.g., heating, processing, and
pressurizing water) and that 75% of the electricity and nearly
all of the natural gas use related to water in California is
associated with water heating. The state's ongoing drought is
expected to cause increases in groundwater pumping, water
treatment, and water recycling, which could further increase
energy use associated with water.
Electric utilities are required to disclose the sources of the
electricity they sell. However, this requirement does not
extend to water utilities that are not retail electricity
providers. An April 2015 report from the Union of Concerned
Scientists, Clean Energy Opportunities in California's Water
Sector, reports that although some water and wastewater
utilities independently report the sources of their electricity,
SB 1425
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the information is not compiled in a standardized format or
updated on a regular schedule across the water sector.
The report states that the data gap makes it difficult to get a
clear picture of the amount and type of electricity California's
water and wastewater utilities rely on and that this information
gap makes it difficult to understand how the water sector's
electricity choices impact GHG emissions and the state's efforts
to decarbonize the electricity sector.
According to the author, this bill establishes a voluntary
emissions repository for projects that reduce the carbon
intensity of California's water system. This new registry will
allow for entities such as water agencies, large water
consumers, businesses and others to voluntarily track, measure,
and baseline their GHG emissions resulting from the water-energy
nexus.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0004310