California Air Resources Board

Summary 

Would have required CalRecycle to allow a local jurisdiction until December 1, 2031, in procuring recovered organic waste products to meet the target procurement requirements under the Short-lived Climate Pollutant Strategy, to use California-derived recovered organic waste that the local jurisdiction sends for processing at a facility outside of the State that meets certain conditions, as provided. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary 

Would have required CARB by December 31, 2025, to include in the SB 901 (Dodd, 2018) report, a methodology to quantify GHG and short-lived climate pollutant emissions, including black carbon from wildfire, pile burning, and forest management activities and a list of the data needed to use the methodology. This bill also would have established a Forest Waste Biomass Utilization Program to be administered by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation, required the California Natural Resources Agency to facilitate the inclusion of recommendations for forest biomass waste utilization in relevant State climate adaptation plans, and required the California Energy Commission to report on innovative bioenergy technologies that utilize forest biomass waste. This bill was similar to AB 2878 (Aguiar-Curry, 2022).  Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. 

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Summary 

Would have required State agencies administering competitive Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant programs that involve housing, urban forestry, urban greening, or planning to provide at least a three-month application period and would have required the California Department of Finance to report on additional elements in the California Climate Investments Annual Report, including information on applications that did not receive funding. This bill also would have allowed applicants from the counties of Imperial and San Diego to include daytime population numbers in grant applications. This bill was similar to AB 943 (E. Garcia, 2022), AB 2812 (E. Garcia, 2019), AB 1945 (E. Garcia, 2018). Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary 

Would have authorized the California Coastal Commission to require an applicant with a project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project, as defined, and would have required the California Coastal Commission to consult with CARB and other specified entities in developing a blue carbon demonstration project program. Each blue carbon demonstration project would have to be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved and results would have to be presented to the California Coastal Commission in a public hearing. This bill was similar to AB 2593 (Boerner, 2022). Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have designated a local air district as a special district for purposes of receiving State funds or funds disbursed by the State, including federal funds. The bill would also have required, if eligibility for funds requires a district to be considered either a dependent or an independent special district, the entity distributing those funds to use the definitions for those terms set forth in the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, as specified, to determine eligibility. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB to conduct an assessment of the socioeconomic impacts, as defined, of a proposed rule or regulation with an economic impact of $10 million or more that will significantly affect air quality or emissions limitations. The bill also would have authorized CARB to contract with a third party to conduct the required assessment of socioeconomic impacts. The bill would have specified minimum standards for the assessment of socioeconomic impacts and required CARB or a third-party contractor to include in the assessment of socioeconomic impacts specified information and various economic analyses. The bill would have prohibited CARB from approving an assessment of socioeconomic impacts that fails to meet these requirements. The bill would have had similar provisions for local air districts regarding third party contractors and made changes to the socioeconomic analysis carried out by local air districts for rulemakings. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required the Ocean Protection Council (Council) by January 1, 2026, to implement a statewide voluntary vessel speed reduction and sustainable shipping program, as specified, for the California coast in order to reduce air pollution, the risk of fatal vessel strikes on whales, and harmful underwater acoustic impacts. The bill would have required the Council to coordinate with the coastal local air districts and consult with various entities, including CARB, on the program. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have streamlined the application and implementation process for covered grants, defined as a grand award not exceeding $20,000 with a duration not more than a year and 501(c)(3) nonprofits as the eligible recipient . The bill would have had website requirements for a State agency or third-party contractor to post application information for a covered grant and to allow completion of a covered grant application online. The bill also would have required administrators to provide outreach, including to rural, low-income, and disadvantaged communities, for covered grant programs totaling $200,000 or more. The bill would have required advanced payment of at least 50 percent of the grant award and prohibited an administrator from requiring specified receipts, reports, and insurance coverage. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required State agencies to implement Zero Trust Architecture practices through a multi-year phased approach, with increasing level of maturity culminating in 2030. The bill would have required State agencies to implement on their systems: multi-factor authentication, enterprise endpoint detection and response, and robust logging practices. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have been a general government budget trailer bill to the Budget Act of 2023 that would have made changes to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The bill would have authorized State bodies to hold public meetings, subject to specified notice and accessibility requirements, through teleconferencing and making public meetings accessible telephonically or otherwise electronically to the public, as specified. The bill would have provided that a State body need not make available any physical location from which members of the public may observe the meeting and offer public comment. These Bagley-Keene provisions would have sunset on December 31, 2023. Was not heard in the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

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