California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have established the California Deforestation-Free Procurement Act. The bill would have required a contractor, and specified subcontractors, for any contract entered, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2024, contracting with a State agency for the procurement of products comprised wholly or in part of forest-risk commodities, to certify that the commodities were not grown, derived, harvested, reared, or produced on land where tropical deforestation occurred on or after January 1, 2022.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 416 without my signature.

This bill would require the Department of General Services to issue a Deforestation-Free Code of Conduct covering contracts involving "forest-risk commodities," including wood, paper, rubber, palm oil, beef, and soy. It would require state contractors that provide products to the state that include forest-risk commodities to have a No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policy and to make detailed certifications to the origin of each product. These contractors would be required to publicly disclose their supply chains back to the farm or forest where the commodity was grown or harvested.

Deforestation is a major contributor to the climate crisis that California and the world is facing right now. I share the author's commitment to preventing tropical deforestation. Unfortunately, this bill's extensive requirements would create a significant burden on California businesses - particularly small businesses - that are looking to participate in state contracts.

For example, under this bill, every time the state purchases a product that contains soy, the vendor providing that product would need to disclose the exact location where the soybeans were grown, who the farmer was, and where the soybeans were processed. Most small business suppliers do not have access to that information, and with nearly all the U.S. soybean supply coming from domestic producers, this requirement would place a significant burden on businesses without impacting the stated goal of preventing tropical deforestation.

For these reasons I cannot sign this bill; however, I remain committed to working with the author to advance our shared environmental goals and will consider future legislation that better targets those supply chains that directly impact tropical deforestation.

Sincerely,
Gavin Newsom

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Summary

Among other things, this bill requires the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in consultation with CARB and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2026, outcomes of the funds spent pursuant to Section 45 of SB 901 (Dodd, Chapter 626, Statutes of 2018), including an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions associated with wildfire and forest management activities. 

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Summary

This bill would transfer $150 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to fund the Innovative Renewable Energy for Buildings Act of 2021, that would, until January 1, 2031, require the California Energy Commission to establish and implement a program to provide financial incentives to producers for the production of renewable propane, renewable hydrogen, and renewable dimethyl ether meeting certain requirements and that is used as an energy source for buildings. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resource Committee. 

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Summary

Would have established specified State goals for fuels treatment, vegetation management, and wildfire risk reduction. The bill would have also required the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency to submit an annual report, beginning on or before January 1, 2023, on the progress made towards achieving these goals to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

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Summary

Would have established the California Fire Safe Council (Council) in the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) consisting of 11 members, as specified.  The bill would have required the Council to identify and implement programs to address and minimize the risks of wildfire, to identify public and private programs that may be leveraged to facilitate structure-hardening and community resilience, to conduct public outreach to regional and local wildfire mitigation groups, and to make recommendations to the Legislature on how the programs identified by the Council can be coordinated to increase the effectiveness of those programs.  Upon appropriation by the Legislature, up to $7 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund would have been available to CNRA for the purposes of the bill.  Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would require the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to provide a basic level of technological support to community organizations for wildfire risk reduction and resiliency, including technology for data, geospatial mapping, and data management, as well as software and limited technical support, and would require CNRA to structure this wildfire technology support in the same way that technology support is provided for similar services for wildfire-program building, outreach, and planning. The bill is contingent on a $5 million appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund each year through the 2022–23 fiscal year to CNRA for purposes of providing the technological support described above. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would require the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to research, and provide a report to the Legislature with recommendations for, ways in which a community that undertakes science-supported wildfire resilience actions can be recognized with a peer-reviewed, community-level certification in order to acknowledge and motivate wildfire resilience activity, on or before January 1, 2023. The bill is contingent on a $2 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund each year through the 2022–23 fiscal year to CNRA for purposes of this research and report. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have deleted the requirement that prescribed burns initiated at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention's request be on lands owned by a nonprofit organization or other public agencies. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would extend the funding committed by SB 901 (Dodd, Chapter 626, Statutes of 2018) for fire prevention and management projects by continuously appropriating $200 million to California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE) from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). Beginning in the 2021-2022 fiscal year and ending in the 2028-2029 fiscal year, $200 million from GGRF would be appropriated to CAL FIRE for (1) healthy forest and fire prevention programs and projects and (2) prescribed fire and other fuel reduction projects. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. 

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Summary

Would require the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, before December 31, 2022, and before December 31 of each year thereafter, to identify priority fuel reduction projects. The bill would also exempt the identified priority fuel reduction projects from specified legal requirements. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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