California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have required 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 have also exempted the identified priority fuel reduction projects from specified legal requirements. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have, among other things, continuously appropriated, from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, $480 million to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and $20 million to the California Conservation Corps for fire prevention activities, and indefinitely extend existing law that allows the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to exempt certain forest management activities from obtaining approval from CAL FIRE for a timber harvesting plan. Forest management activities that would have been eligible for exemption include cutting or removing trees on property to reduce flammable materials and maintain a fuelbreak on each side of a habitable structure. The bill would have also extended the distance of the fuelbreak from 300 feet to 500 feet. Finally, the bill would have exempted certain forest health and fuel reduction activities from the California Environmental Quality Act. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB to identify and make recommendations for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions from wildfires in each update to the Scoping Plan after January 1, 2022. The bill also would have provided the intent to make a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund appropriation for wildfire mitigation and prevention. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that CARB, in consultation with the local air districts, review established guidance and policies related to prescribed fire with the goal of maximizing acreage and opportunities to implement prescribed fire in order to reduce the air pollution associated with high-severity wildfire. The bill also makes various changes to State law to enhance wildland fire prevention efforts, including, among other things, incorporating and facilitating cultural burning practices, and requiring the identification of moderate and high fire hazard severity zones in local responsibility areas, as specified.

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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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