California Air Resources Board

Adds pipelines transporting carbon dioxide to the State requirements for pipelines carrying hazardous liquids but only allows those pipelines to operate after the State Fire Marshal adopts regulations governing those pipelines. The bill requires the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations governing intrastate pipelines transporting carbon dioxide, that are equivalent to draft federal regulations, as specified. The bill authorizes the State Fire Marshal to amend the regulations to provide other safety standards, as specified, and requires pipelines transporting carbon dioxide to or from carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects to comply with these regulations. Specifies that the regulations shall be considered emergency regulations. The bill requires a pipeline operator to conduct an analysis, as specified, of the potential for harm to sensitive receptors located within the emergency planning zone, and requires the operator to submit an emergency planning zone inventory and map, as specified. The bill requires a lead agency to prepare and certify an Environmental Impact Report for the construction of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide and provide notice to sensitive reporters, as specified. Finally, the bill prohibits approval of carbon dioxide pipelines that were previously used to transport other liquids or gases.

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Defines pyrolysis in the Public Resources Code as the thermal decomposition of material at elevated temperatures in the absence or near absence of oxygen. Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to include pipeline biomethane converted from organic waste as eligible for procurement credit by local jurisdictions by January 1, 2027.

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Has a variety of provisions regarding California’s gasoline specification, including allowing the Governor to suspend specification requirements in certain conditions and requiring the California Energy Commission (CEC)to assess alternative specifications, evaluate the possibility of a western region gasoline specification, and recommend strategies to support the state’s fuel transition. The bill also has provisions to improve oil and gas facility safety, including requiring more public input for the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response to solicit and incorporate public input on worst case oil spill volumes and financial responsibility requirements and requiring testing for idle oil pipelines and use of best technology for onshore transport of offshore oil. Additionally, the bill allows increased oil extraction in Kern County but prohibits new production in health protection zones.

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Would have required CARB to establish the Marine Carbon Initiative, consisting of the Marine Carbon Council and the Marine Carbon Research Program. The bill requires CARB to select the seven members of the Marine Carbon Council by August 1, 2027, as specified, and requires the Council to advance the science and understanding of marine carbon dioxide removal and sequestration methods and technologies, as specified. The bill requires CARB to establish the Marine Carbon Research Program by July 1, 2028 to award grants and other financial incentives for eligible marine carbon dioxide removal and sequestration projects, as specified. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Provides reimbursement and per diem compensation for members of single county local air district boards, as well as the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District board. Specifically, the bill allows daily compensation up to $200 per day with an annual cap on compensation of $7,200 and allows approval of an annual increase of 5-10%. The bill also requires a report to be submitted to the Legislature within three years of commencement of the compensation.

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Permanently exempts active transportation plans, pedestrian plans, and bicycle transportation plans for the restriping of streets and highways, bicycle parking and storage, and signal timing to improve street and highway intersection operations from CEQA. This bill expands the project types applicable for the CEQA exemption of certain transportation-related projects and extends the exemption from January 1, 2030, to January 1, 2040. The bill extends and expands other CEQA exemptions for public projects related to transit and requires certain CEQA-exempt projects that exceed a specified dollar amount to meet certain criteria.

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Prohibits a public entity that owns diesel-powered locomotives and other on-track equipment from selling, donating, or otherwise transferring that equipment for continued use after it is decommissioned. A public entity is exempt from this prohibition if the public entity authorizes the transaction in a public hearing and either the equipment is Tier 2 or cleaner, produces emissions equivalent to Tier 2 or cleaner equipment, or the diesel engine is removed from the equipment.

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Requires the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) department to complete, by June 30, 2027, their mandated plan with recommendations and guidelines for counties to use in the case of a significant air quality event caused by wildfires or other sources. The bill requires the county-specific plan, which counties are required to develop to address all recommendations and guidelines in the CDPH plan, to incorporate a process to conduct outreach and communicate to the public and with key stakeholders specified information about the plan.

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Requires that a housing development project within a specified distance of a transit-oriented development (TOD) stop, be an allowed use as a transit-oriented housing development on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development, if the development complies with applicable requirements. Among these requirements, the bill requires a project to include at least 5 dwelling units and establish requirements concerning height limits, density, and residential floor area ratio in accordance with a development’s proximity to specified tiers of TOD stops. The bill provides that a local government that denies a project meeting the requirements of these provisions located in a high-resource area, as defined, would be presumed in violation of the Housing Accountability Act and immediately liable for penalties, beginning on January 1, 2027. These provisions do not apply to a local agency until July 1, 2026, or within unincorporated areas of counties until the 7th regional housing needs allocation cycle. The bill specifies that a development proposed pursuant to these provisions is eligible for streamlined, ministerial approval pursuant to specified law, except that the bill exempts a project under these provisions from specified requirements and specifies that the project is required to comply with certain affordability requirements, under that law.

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Authorizes the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to issue an emergency vehicle permit to any vehicle owned by a county, city, or city and county office of emergency services only while that vehicle is being used by a public employee in responding to any disaster.

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