BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2329
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2329 (Ruskin) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
SUBJECT : Greenhouse gas emissions: Climate Action Team.
SUMMARY : Codifies the Climate Action Team (CAT), which would be
responsible for coordinating the state's climate change policy
under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental
Protection (Secretary).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB
32), requires ARB to adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit
equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and to adopt rules and
regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective GHG emission reductions
2)Executive Orders (EO) S-3-05 and S-20-06 creates the CAT to
engage in AB 32-related activities and overall climate policy;
directs the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA) to coordinate multi-agency efforts to meet GHG
emission reduction targets; and requires each agency to
annually prepare and submit GHG-related information to CalEPA.
THIS BILL :
1)Creates the CAT consisting of the:
a) Secretary, who serves as chair and is required to
coordinated oversight of the efforts to meet the AB 32 GHG
targets.
b) Secretary of Natural Resources Agency;
c) Chairperson of the ARB;
d) Chair of the California Energy Commission;
e) President of the Public Utilities Commission;
f) Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing;
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g) Secretary of Food and Agriculture;
h) Secretary of State and Consumer Services;
i) Secretary of Health and Human Services;
j) Director of the Office of Planning and Research;
aa)Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development; and,
bb)Ex-officio representatives of other departments as
necessary.
2)Provides that multi-agency staff may be formed by the CAT to
provide technical support in the following sectors:
agriculture, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, energy, land
use, coastal and delta resources, regional and international
policy development, state operations, water, and climate
research.
3)Requires the CAT to coordinate state climate policy to achieve
the following goals:
a) The maximum feasible and cost-effective reduction of
GHGs through implementation of AB 32;
b) The promotion of economic and job growth;
c) The identification of unavoidable climate change
impacts;
d) The development and implementation of mitigation and
adaptation plans to protect state natural resources,
natural resources, and economy; and,
e) The coordination of climate change policies with other
states, the federal government, and other nations to
identify the most effective climate change strategies and
research efforts that can be done at the regional,
national, and international levels.
f) The coordination and efficient use of existing state
resources, programs, and funds.
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4)Requires the CAT to identify and review activities, funding
programs, recommend policies, investment strategies, and
provide information to local government to achieve the above
goals.
5)Authorizes each member of the CAT to appoint a designee and
requires each designee to act as the member in his or her
place and stead.
6)Authorizes the CAT to hold duly noticed public meetings to
solicit comments from the public; exempts the CAT from the
Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the bill. According to the author's office:
Effective coordination of existing programs and funding by
the state is required to help the state meet its robust
greenhouse gas emission targets. In the absence of AB
2329, there is nothing in law that requires the state's
climate change policy activities to be coordinated across
state agencies. AB 2329 ensures that the state has
multi-sector climate policy coordination and a plan to
address climate change impacts.
2)Existing CAT efforts. State agencies are currently required
to report on their GHG emissions and actions taken to reduce
emissions through an annual CAT report. So far the CAT has
been responsible for coordinating overall climate policy for
state agencies, as well as to consider and implement
strategies to reduce their GHG emissions. According to the
authors, more effective coordination of existing programs and
funding resources in California can improve the achievement of
California GHG emission reductions while protecting the
state's infrastructure, communities, and natural resources
from climate change impacts. The authors also add that more
effective coordination of these factors may provide economic
growth. Since the CAT was created by an executive order, it
may be terminated at the end of the Schwarzenegger
administration unless it becomes codified. According to the
authors, "effective coordination of existing programs and
funding by the state is required to help the state meet its
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robust greenhouse gas emission targets. In the absence of AB
2329, there is nothing in law that requires the state's
climate change policy activities to be coordinated across
state agencies."
3)Prior legislation. Codification of the CAT has been attempted
previously. Most recently in 2009, SB 721 (Steinberg)
attempted to codify the CAT under the CalEPA Secretary.
However, SB 721 did not include representatives of some state
departments that were currently included within the CAT and
was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 1760
(Perata) formalized the structure and duties of the CAT to
coordinate climate policy and expenditure of state funds. SB
1760 passed the Legislature in 2008, but was vetoed by the
Governor. SB 721 also differed from SB 1760 in that in
included deployment and adaptation actions as a part of the
CAT's responsibilities. While this bill (AB 2329) does not
explicitly mention "deployment," it does mention that the CAT
must work to coordinate the "development and implementation of
mitigation and adaptation plans to protect the natural
resources, public health and welfare, and economy of
California." Similarly, in 2008, SB 660 (Perata) attempted to
establish the Strategic Research Investment Council which
would be required to prepare a research, development and
demonstration (RD&D) plan for state agency expenditures for
clean technology, environmental protection, and public
interest energy research and present the plan to the
Legislature. SB 660 was vetoed by the governor with the
rationale that creating yet another substantial layer of
administration would hinder the current Administration
coordination (the CAT) on climate change RD&D, and would
remove the necessary flexibility needed to continue to react
to topical issues and rapidly changing technologies.
4)Open meetings. The Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act (Act)
requires, with specified exceptions, that the meetings of a
state body be open and public and that all persons be
permitted to attend. Currently, an executive order
establishes the CAT and requires it to coordinate multi-agency
efforts to meet GHG emission reduction targets and certain
activities relating to AB 32. The Act has been incorporated
previously in the codification of the Strategic Growth
Council. The author and the committee may wish to consider
adopting the following amendment :
AB 2329
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A meeting of the Climate Action Team, including a meeting
related to the coordination multi-agency efforts to meet
greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and certain
activities relating to the California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006, shall be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
except that, for purposes of this section, "meeting" shall not
include a meeting at which council members are meeting as
members of the Governor's cabinet.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Breathe California
Nature Conservancy
Sierra Club California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jessica Westbrook / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092