AB 1992, as amended, Quirk. California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: very low carbon transportation fuels.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit to be achieved by 2020 equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels of 1990. The state board additionally is required to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Pursuant to the act, the state board has adopted the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations.
This bill would authorize the state board to establish a very low carbon fuel market commitment program that requires wholesalers, producers, importers, or any other entity that provides transportation fuel to a retailer or sells transportation fuel to a consumer to include as part of their transportation fuel sales in the state percentages of very low carbon transportation fuel, as defined, to be determined by the state board. These provisions would become inoperative 5 years after the state board makes a specified notification to the Secretary of State.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) Low-carbon transportation fuels are an important element
4of the state’s greenhouse gas reduction policy and increasing the
5supply of those fuels will help the state achieve its greenhouse gas
6reduction goals.
7(b) Existing incentives for the development of low-carbon
8transportation fuels, including the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard
9regulation (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of
10Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17
11of the California Code of Regulations), the California Global
12Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with
13Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), and Assembly Bill
14118 (Chapter 750 of the Statutes of 2007), have not resulted in
15sufficient development of low-carbon transportation fuels.
Section 38568 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
17to read:
(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
19have the following meanings:
20(1) “Indirect land use change emission” means the carbon
21emissions associated with changes in agricultural activity that
22result from the market-mediated effects of using an agricultural
23commodity that is a food product as feedstock for the production
24of the transportation fuel.
25(2) “Very low carbon transportation fuel” means a liquid
or
26gaseous transportation fuel having no greater than 50 percent the
27carbon intensity of the closest comparable petroleum fuel for that
28year, as measured by the methodology in the Low-Carbon Fuel
29Standard regulation (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section
3095480) of Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3
31of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations). The carbon
32intensity for the transportation fuel shall include the indirect land
P3 1use change emission if an agricultural commodity that is a food
2product is used as a feedstock for the production of the
3transportation fuel.
4(b) The state board may establish a very low carbon fuel market
5commitment program that requires a wholesaler, producer,
6importer, or any other entity that provides transportation fuel to a
7retailer or sells transportation fuel to a consumer to
include as part
8of its transportation fuel sales in the state percentages of very low
9carbon transportation fuel to be determined by the state board and
10measured in energy equivalent units. The state board may require
11percentages of very low carbon transportation fuel as low as
12one-quarter of 1 percent or as high as 2 percent.
13(c) When the state board determines that very low carbon
14transportation fuel sales have reached 2 percent of all transportation
15fuel sales in the state, the state board shall notify the Secretary of
16State
and this section shall be inoperative five years from that
17notification.
18(d) This section does not replace or modify any existing fuel
19standards or requirements imposed under the Low-Carbon Fuel
20Standard regulation (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section
2195480) of Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3
22of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations).
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