California Air Resources Board

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 direct the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to adopt a new net energy metering (NEM) standard contract or tariff, which the bill would define as the "replacement tariff," by August 1, 2022, and would require an electrical investor-owned utility to offer the replacement tariff to an eligible customer-generator by December 31, 2023. If CPUC fails to act, CPUC would be required to adopt a new tariff under prescribed terms. Failed passage with reconsideration granted and moved to the Assembly Inactive File.

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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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Summary

Would add 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 also authorize 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 require 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 require 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. Moved to Senate Inactive File.

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Summary

Would require 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 require 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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Summary

Would add 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. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to promote environmental justice by ensuring that disadvantaged communities, often low-income communities of color, do not continue to be overburdened with unfair shares of pollution. Was not heard by the Senate Rules Committee.

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Summary

Would establish an Office of Racial Equity to be administered by a Racial Equity Advisory and Accountability Council. Would require all State agencies develop and implement a Racial Equity Action Plan (Plan) that aligns with the Racial Equity Framework and will be updated every three years. Each Plan would include goals, strategies, and plans to achieve equity within the agency and for services provided to the public, and metrics to measure current conditions and outcomes, as specified. Each agency would prepare an annual report on its progress with data documentation. Was not heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would establish, until January 1, 2028, a Just Transition Advisory Commission in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and requires the commission, through a public process, to develop and adopt a Transition Plan that contains recommendations to transition the state’s economy to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy that maximizes the benefits of climate actions while minimizing burdens to workers, especially workers in the fossil fuel industry, and their communities, especially those that face disproportionate burdens from pollution. Held on suspense in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

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Summary

Would require air districts that have a nonattainment area for one or more air pollutants to adopt an expedited schedule for the implementation of best available control technology, expands best available control retrofit technology (BARCT) requirements in those air districts to other industrial sources beside those that participate in CARB’s Cap-and Trade program, and prohibits industrial sources that fail to implement BARCT by December 31, 2023 from participating in the Cap and Trade program. Was not heard in the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

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