California Air Resources Board

Summary

Among other things, establishes interim targets for the State’s 100 percent clean energy goal in 2045 and accelerates the date by which State agencies must achieve 100 percent clean energy use. This bill requires that CARB’s Scoping Plan workshops be held in non-attainment areas and requires the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, and CARB to create a joint report on electricity reliability.

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Summary

Would have established the Climate Pollution Reduction in Homes Initiative and required the Department of Community Services and Development to administer the initiative to provide grants for projects, including, but not limited to, those that provide financial assistance to low-income households for the purchase of zero-carbon-emitting appliances. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to develop a program to provide financial assistance through a payment card to low-income and disadvantaged community members to use electric vehicle charging stations. This bill would have also required a recipient of State funding for deploying a publicly available electric vehicle charging station to agree, as a condition of receiving the funding, to operate the station in compliance with reliability standards that would be developed by the California Energy Commission. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have directed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to adopt a new net energy metering (NEM) standard contract or tariff, which the bill would have defined as the "replacement tariff," by August 1, 2022, and would have required an electrical investor-owned utility to offer the replacement tariff to an eligible customer-generator by December 31, 2023. If CPUC failed to act, CPUC would have been required to adopt a new tariff under prescribed terms. Moved to the Assembly Inactive File.

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Summary

Would have created the Environmental Justice Community Resilience Hubs Program (Program) and would have funded 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 have funded building upgrade projects for owners of critical community institutions through competitive grants run by electrical corporations and administered by a third-party administrator. Was not heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, by January 1, 2024, to develop a tool to calculate the average annual gallons of gasoline or diesel that a particular vehicle has used and ensure, when administering incentive programs for light-duty zero-emission vehicles, including but not limited to the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, Clean Cars 4 All, and the Clean Vehicle Assistance program, that incentives awarded under applicable programs be awarded based on the average annual gallons of gasoline or diesel that the applicant’s vehicle consumed. The bill also would have required incentive amounts to be set at a level that maximizes the displacement of gasoline or diesel and the reduction of emissions criteria pollutants per dollar spent. Additionally, the bill would have required, in order to ensure equity is prioritized, that incentive amounts be further modified to ensure that additional per gallon incentive payments are provided to an applicant of a ZEV incentive program if the applicant is either low or moderate income or resides in an under-resourced community. Finally, the bill also would have required, by January 1, 2024 and biennially afterwards, a legislatively mandated report that includes: (1) Actual gasoline or diesel and criteria emissions reduced per dollar spent on ZEV incentives under applicable programs; (2) The impacts of ZEV incentive spending in terms of quantifiable emissions reductions and transportation savings within under-resourced communities and among low- to middle-income individuals; and (3) The changes in annual gasoline and diesel use at local levels by census tract or ZIP Code. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have set a goal that at least 60 percent of new zero-emission passenger vehicles (ZEV) sold in the State for noncommercial private use be purchased by, or on behalf of persons from, an underrepresented community as defined by the bill. The bill also stated that this goal should supersede any other ZEV goals. Additionally, the bill would have prohibited CARB from pursuing strategies to implement any goal for zero-emission passenger vehicle sales established by statute or executive order unless those strategies are also designed to achieve the zero-emission vehicle equity goal established by this bill simultaneously. Was not heard in Assembly Transportation 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, along with the disproportionate impact of the proposed rule or regulation on specified race and ethnicities, as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals and women. The bill would have prohibited CARB from approving an assessment of socioeconomic impacts that fails to meet those requirements. The bill would have had similar provisions regarding third party contractor and disproportionate impact analysis for the local air districts. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have added two environmental justice members, one appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, to the South Coast Air Quality Management Board (AQMD). The bill would have also authorized South Coast AQMD Board to create a Labor Advisory Panel composed of six representatives whose members perform work in the South Coast Air Basin. The bill would have required the Labor Advisory Panel to provide feedback and input on all district permitting, rules, regulations, and planning issues that have the potential to impact the workforce in the South Coast Air Basin. The bill would have required the South Coast AQMD Board to select the members of the Labor Advisory Panel from nominations provided by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the Inland Empire Labor Council, and the Orange County Labor Federation. Failed passage on the Senate Floor.

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Summary

Would have required a State agency that receives and disburses funds provided under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act or other federal recovery funds to consider projects’ potential impact on specified goals, including restoring frontline communities and rapidly accelerating achievement of environmental justice and climate goals, as well as uplifting vulnerable workers by prioritizing high road employers. The bill would have required State agencies to document how proposed projects meet or align with the specified goals and requires the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to establish an internet website where the public can track the expenditure of federal ARP funds by the State and how funded projects meet the specified goals. Was not heard in Senate Governmental Organization Committee.

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