BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2311
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2311 (Mendoza) - As Amended: April 19, 2010
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the executive officer (EO) of the Air
Resources Board to conduct three reviews of the Low Carbon Fuel
Standard (LCFS) regulation. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the EO to review the LCFS regulation by January 1 of
2012, 2015 and 2018.
2)Specifies topics to be covered by the reviews, such as (a)
progress against targets, (b) necessary adjustments to the
compliance schedule, (c) life-cycle assessments, (d)
cost-effectiveness, and (e) the effect of the regulation on
state revenues, consumers, economic growth, public health and
air quality.
3)Directs the EO to establish the LCFS advisory panel consisting
of specified governmental and private representatives, to
participate in the periodic reviews of the LCFS regulation.
4)Requires the EO to conduct the periodic reviews in a public
process that includes at least two public workshops for each
review period.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time costs of about $500,000 to ARB in 2016-17 and 2017-18
in preparation of the 2018 review (Air Pollution Control Fund).
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author and sponsors contend this bill will
AB 2311
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provide necessary oversight for ARB's development of the
far-reaching and potentially costly LCFS, which has been
authorized not by an act of the Legislature but by executive
order and ARB regulation.
2)Background .
a) AB 32 and the LCFS . AB 32 (N??ez, Chapter 455, Statutes
of 2006) requires California to limit its emissions of GHGs
so that, by 2020, those emissions are equal to what they
were in 1990. To that end, AB 32 requires ARB to quantify
the state's 1990 GHG emissions and to adopt, by January 1,
2009, a "scoping plan" that describes the board's plan for
achieving the maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective reductions of GHG emissions reductions by
2020.
In 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order
S-1-07, calling for a reduction of at least 10 % in the
carbon intensity of California's transportation fuels by
2020. The order directed ARB to consider initiating
regulatory proceedings to establish and implement the LCFS.
In keeping with AB 32, ARB adopted its AB 32 scoping plan
in December of 2008. Included in the scoping plan was the
LCFS, which ARB adopted as a regulation in 2009. Like this
bill, the LCFS regulation includes provisions for review,
one in 2012 and another in 2015, though not for review of
the regulation in 2018.
3)Support. This bill is supported by the California Trucking
Association and the Western State Petroleum Association, who
cosponsor the bill, as well as the California Chamber of
Commerce.
4)Opposition . As introduced, this bill was opposed by numerous
public health and environmental organizations. It appears
that this opposition has been removed after amendments to the
bill taken in the policy committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081