BILL ANALYSIS
SB 104
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 15, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 104 (Oropeza) - As Amended: April 30, 2009
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill adds to the list of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to be
regulated by the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to AB 32.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Adds nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and any other GHG designated
by the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate
Change to the list of GHGs regulated by ARB.
2)Requires ARB to adopt emission limits and reduction measures
for any gas added to the list of GHGs pursuant to this bill
within two years of the gas's addition.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible costs.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author notes that AB 32 explicitly authorized
ARB to regulate greenhouse gases largely as those gases were
identified by the UN Kyoto Protocol, which was negotiated
during the 1990s. The author claims that when the protocol
was negotiated, scientists were unaware of the global warming
potential of NF3, and that NF3 was therefore not identified in
the protocol. The author further notes that studies since
have found that NF3, which is used in the manufacture of
several consumer items, including photovoltaic solar panels,
LCD television screens, and microprocessors, has a global
warming potential 17,000 times greater than CO2 and persists
in the atmosphere 550 years. The author contends ARB needs
SB 104
Page 2
authority to regulate NF3 and other potential GHGs in order to
effectively achieve the GHG reduction goals of AB 32.
2)Background .
a) AB 32 (N??ez, Chapter 488, 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. AB 32
requires ARB, on or before January 1, 2011, to adopt GHG
emission limits and reduction measures, to become operative
on January 1, 2012.
AB 32 explicitly defines GHGs to include carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. AB 32 does not
state, however, that ARB's authority to regulate the
emission of GHGs is limited to that list of six gases.
b) NF3 Is a Greenhouse Gas With Increasing Industrial Use.
In its 2007 report, the International Panel on Climate
Change-a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the
World Meteorological Organization and by the UN Environment
Programme-identified NF3 as a GHG with thousands of times
the global warming potential of carbon dioxide that remains
in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. NF3 is
increasingly used in industrial applications, largely
because of its use to make liquid crystal displays.
3)Supporters , including several prominent environmental
organizations and the American Federation of State, County &
Municipal Employees (AFSME), argue that NF3's extreme global
warming potential and increasing industrial use justify its
addition to the list of GHG to be regulated by ARB. In
addition, proponents claim that, to achieve the goals of AB
32, ARB needs the explicit authority to regulate other GHGs as
they identified are by United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change.
4)Opponents , including numerous business and industrial
organizations, contend that the Legislature should review UN
SB 104
Page 3
Convention decisions on particular emission sources and gases
and debate the need for their regulation rather than
automatically granting regulatory authority to ARB.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081