BILL NUMBER: AB 1305 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Salas)
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 41514.15 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to air pollution.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1305, as amended, V. Manuel Perez. Air pollution: imported
electricity: mitigation fee.
Existing law designates air pollution control districts and air
quality management districts as having the primary responsibility for
the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular
sources. Existing law also designates the State Air Resources Board
as the state entity responsible for the coordination and review of
all levels of government in their efforts to control air pollution.
This bill would require any person that imports certain
electricity into the state, or causes that electricity to
be imported into the state, to pay up to a $0.001 per kilowatthour
air contaminant emission electricity generation mitigation fee for
that electricity, but not to exceed the cost of mitigation, as
determined by the state board. The bill would impose the fee only if
the electricity is produced by an electrical generating facility, as
defined, that is located within an air basin shared by a district and
Mexico and located in Mexico within 100 kilometers of the United
States' border, if construction of the electrical generating facility
was completed after January 1, 2010, the facility provides
incremental generating capacity that was not in operation prior to
January 1, 2010, and if the electrical generating facility was
not constructed to meet all existing California air pollution
regulations and standards, including, but not limited to, best
available control technology (BACT) and any offsets that would be
required under California law to mitigate any additional pollution.
The bill would establish the Imported Electricity Air Pollution
Mitigation Subaccount in the Air Pollution Control Fund, and would
require the mitigation fees to be deposited in that
subaccount. The bill would make the moneys deposited in the
subaccount available to the state board, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for distribution to each district in the state that the
state board determines is directly impacted by emissions of air
contaminants from those electrical generating facilities. The bill
would require each district receiving those revenues to fund projects
within its jurisdiction to mitigate the environmental or health
impacts of electricity generation facilities.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 41514.15 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:
41514.15. (a) Any person who imports electricity into the state,
or causes electricity to be imported into the state, shall pay an
electricity generation mitigation fee in the amount described in
subdivision (b) to the state board to mitigate the air pollution
caused by the generation of that electricity, if
only to the extent that the electrical generating facility
that generated the electricity meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Is located within an air basin shared by a district and
Mexico, as determined by the state board.
(2) Is located in Mexico within 100 kilometers of the United
States' border.
(3) Was not constructed to meet all existing California air
pollution regulations and standards, including, but not limited to,
best available control technology (BACT) and any offsets that would
be required under California law to mitigate any additional
pollution.
(4) Construction was completed after January 1, 2010 , and
the facility provides incremental generating capacity that was not in
operation prior to January 1, 2010 .
(b) (1) The electricity generation mitigation fee shall be
assessed by the state board at a rate of not more than one-tenth of
one cent ($0.001) per kilowatthour of electricity generated from
the incremental capacity of the electrical generating facility
that is imported into the state, but not to exceed the cost that the
state board determines is necessary to mitigate the environmental or
health impacts of electricity generation facilities meeting the
criteria described in subdivision (a), and any associated
administrative costs to each impacted district. The state board may
impose a fee less than one-tenth of one cent ($0.001) per
kilowatthour of electricity if the state board determines that the
lower fee amount would further enhance reductions of emissions of air
contaminants.
(2) The state board shall consult with the Independent System
Operator in determining the amount of electricity that is imported
into the state from an electrical generating facility that meets the
criteria described in subdivision (a).
(c) The fees collected by the state board pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall be deposited into the Imported Electricity Air Pollution
Mitigation Subaccount, which is hereby established in the Air
Pollution Control Fund. The moneys deposited in the subaccount
pursuant to this section shall be available to the state board, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes described in
subdivision (d).
(d) (1) The state board shall distribute the revenues that are
deposited in the subaccount pursuant to this section to each district
that the state board determines is directly impacted by emissions of
air contaminants from an electrical generating facility that meets
the criteria described in subdivision (a), in the proportion that the
state board determines that the district is impacted.
(2) A district receiving revenues pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
utilize those moneys to fund projects within its jurisdiction that
the district determines will mitigate the environmental or health
impacts of electrical generating facilities meeting the criteria of
subdivision (a). The district may not expend more than 10 percent of
the moneys it receives from the state board pursuant to paragraph (1)
for administrative costs.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "electrical generating
facility" means every electrical generating unit , not in
operation prior to January 1, 2010, of a powerplant that is
located at a common site in Mexico. If more than one electrical
generating unit exists at a powerplant project, all of the
electrical generating units is added to the same
powerplant after January 1, 2010, only the electricity generated by
the incremental capacity added after January 1, 2010, shall be
deemed to be part of one electrical generating facility.