BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 881
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: huffman
VERSION: 6/25/09
Analysis by: Art Bauer FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: July 7, 2009
SUBJECT:
Sonoma County Climate Protection Agency
DESCRIPTION:
This bill creates the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection
Agency to assist local agencies in Sonoma County to meet
greenhouse gas reduction goals.
ANALYSIS:
In 2006, the Legislature enacted AB 32 (Nu?ez), Chapter 488, the
Global Warming Act of 2006 (GWA), which requires the California
Air Resources Board (ARB) to establish a statewide greenhouse
gas emissions limit such that by 2020 California reduces its
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the level they were in 1990.
AB 32 requires ARB to adopt a Scoping Plan that identifies the
strategies that will be employed to ensure that California will
meet the 2020 GHG goal. In December 2008, ARB adopted the
Scoping Plan. It recognizes the critical role local governments
will play in the implementation of AB 32 by specifically
stating: "Local governments are essential partners in achieving
California's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They have
broad influence and, in some cases, exclusive authority over
activities that contribute to significant direct and indirect
GHG emissions through their planning and permitting processes,
local ordinances, outreach and education efforts, and municipal
operations. Many of the proposed measures to reduce GHG
emissions rely on local government actions."
AB 881 (HUFFMAN) Page 2
SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008, requires the
CARB to provide each region with GHG emission reduction targets
for the automobile and light truck sector; requires a regional
transportation plan to include a Sustainable Communities
Strategy designed to achieve the targets for GHG emission
reduction; requires cities and counties, in general, to revise
their housing elements every eight years in conjunction with the
regional transportation plan and complete any necessary
rezonings within a specific time period; and relaxes California
Environmental Quality Act requirements for housing developments
that are consistent with a Sustainable Communities Strategy.
This bill :
1. Creates the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection
Authority (authority).
2. Designates the authority as a public instrumentality
governed by the same board as that governing the Sonoma
County Transportation Authority (SCTA), but states that the
authority is a separate entity from SCTA.
3. Authorizes the authority, in cooperation with local
agencies that choose to participate, to perform
coordination and implementation activities within the
boundaries of Sonoma County to assist those participating
agencies in meeting their GHG emission reduction goals.
4. Defines local agency to mean "a county, city, whether
general law or chartered, city and county, town, school
district, municipal corporation, district, political
subdivision, or any board, commission, or agency thereof,
other local public agency."
5. States that the authority may coordinate and implement
activities that shall include, but not be limited to, the
following: reduction of energy consumption; coordination
and implementation of energy efficiency projects;
increasing efficiency of water use; utilizing carbon
sequestration opportunities; administration of grants to
local entities; development of alternative transportation
options; and, measuring and quantifying ongoing greenhouse
gas reductions.
6. Prohibits anything in this bill from superseding or
AB 881 (HUFFMAN) Page 3
interfering with activities, plans, or actions of other
local agencies.
7. Authorizes the authority to apply for funds available to
carry out its functions, to receive grants, and to hold
funds available in a separate account..
8. Prohibits transportation funds from being used for
purposes of this measure other than those activities of the
authority related to transportation.
9. Prohibits funding from the Traffic Relief Act for Sonoma
County (Measure M) from being used for purposes of this
measure.
10. Requires the authority to do all of the following:
Adopt rules for proceedings; a budget, and an
administrative code;
Act by motion, resolution, or ordinance;
Conduct meetings under the Ralph M. Brown Act;
and
Conduct a financial audit annually.
1. Requires that members of the authority be compensated
and reimbursed for necessary and reasonable expenses
incurred in connection with performing official duties.
2. States that the authority may sue and be sued.
3. Sunsets the authority on December 1, 2015, unless
otherwise extended.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose . The purpose of this bill is to create an
organization to assist the local governments in Sonoma
County to manage and coordinate the recently adopted
"Climate Action Plan."
2. Background . ARB encourages local governments to adopt a
GHG reduction goal for emissions from municipal operations
and move toward establishing similar goals for community
AB 881 (HUFFMAN) Page 4
emissions that parallel the state commitment to reduce GHG
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Sonoma County, SCTA, the
Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA), and all nine cities in
Sonoma have adopted a more aggressive goal to reduce GHG
emissions by 25 percent below the 1990 level by 2015.
ARB's Scoping Plan encourages local governments "to partner
with special districts, such as school districts,
transportation planning agencies and waste and water
utilities that provide services within their
jurisdictions." The author cites a Public Policy Institute
of California report that found the implementation barriers
to local GHG reduction efforts is due to the difficulty of
coordinating between local agencies. By creating the
authority, the bill creates a forum to coordinate the
efforts among local public agencies to meet Sonoma County's
ambitious GHG goal.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 50-29
Appr: 11-4
Loc Gov't: 4-2
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
July 1, 2009)
SUPPORT: Sonoma County Transportation Agency (co-sponsor)
County of Sonoma (co-sponsor)
American Council of Engineering Companies of CA
Cities of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Rohnert
Park, and Sebastopol Sonoma Climate Protection
Campaign
Solar Sonoma County
Sonoma County Alliance
Sonoma County Water Agency
Town of Windsor
OPPOSED: None received.