California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have required 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 would have been contingent on a $2 million appropriation 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 required State agencies administering competitive Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) grant programs to give preferential points for specified populations and provide an application period of at least three months. The bill would have also required State agencies that administer competitive grant programs involving housing, forestry, urban greening, or planning to develop application scoring categories to account for differences among urban, suburban, and rural communities during the application review process. In addition, the bill would have added eight additional co-benefits for GGRF‑funded projects and required the California Department of Finance to report on additional elements of GGRF grants in the California Climate Investments Annual Report, including information on applications that did not receive funding. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required the California Natural Resources Agency to prepare a comprehensive, statewide inventory of the natural resources of the State and establish treatment measures necessary to protect those resources, and to post its initial inventory and annual updates on its internet website on or before January 1, 2023. The bill would have been contingent on an appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. 

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Summary

Would have prohibited the California High Speed Rail Authority from directly or indirectly using local, State, federal, or any other public or private funding to purchase, lease, operate, or maintain a passenger or freight train powered by a diesel engine or other type of fossil fuel combustion engine, and from enabling such a train to operate on authority-owned rail infrastructure designed for speeds in excess of 125 miles per hour, except as specified. Was not heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee. 

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Summary 

Would have extended 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 have been 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 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

Would have, among other things, suspended the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund appropriation to the High‑Speed Rail Authority for the 2023–24 and 2024–25 fiscal years and would have transferred those amounts to the General Fund to augment funding for K–12 education and to support full-time in-person instruction for all students. Was not heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, by December 31, 2022, as a part of the Scoping Plan, to prepare an evaluation of the role of hydrogen, and particularly green hydrogen, in achieving California’s climate goals. CARB, in consultation with the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Workforce Development Board, and labor groups, would have been required to prepare a separate evaluation by June 1, 2023 to be posted on CARB’s internet website.

Also, by June 1, 2023, CARB, in conjunction with CEC and CPUC, would have had to: (1) jointly develop recommendations to the Legislature on definitions for different categories of hydrogen and potential end uses for those categories of hydrogen; (2) provide guidance to the Legislature on which categories of hydrogen may be used to meet eligibility requirements for those programs under each State entity’s jurisdiction; (3) jointly develop prohibitions against double counting of environmental attributes associated with production, distribution, and use of hydrogen; and, (4) calculate life-cycle carbon dioxide intensity values for hydrogen pathways that reflect the fuels, feedstocks, and production processes used for their production. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would create the Environmental Justice Community Resilience Hubs Program (Program), and would fund the Program by redirecting 5 percent of electrical corporation allocated allowance auction proceeds received under the Cap-and-Trade Program from annual climate credits that are currently provided to residential ratepayers. The Program would fund competitive grants run by electrical corporations and administered by a third-party administrator for owners of critical community institutions for building upgrade projects. Made a 2-Year bill in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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