California Air Resources Board

Would have suspended the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulation for one year and exempted suppliers of transportation fuels from the Cap-and-Trade program for one year. The bill also would have suspended motor vehicle fuel taxes and required the State Controller to transfer an amount equal to State motor vehicle fuel tax revenue from the General Fund to the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account. Finally, the bill would have required the State Controller to transfer an amount equal to the sale of allowances to the suppliers of transportation fuels under the Cap-and-Trade program in the 2021-2022 fiscal year to the General Fund. Failed passage and was granted reconsideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

View full bill text here

Requires CARB to ensure that the multimedia evaluation of gasoline containing up to 15% ethanol by volume is completed by July 1, 2025. Requires CEC to submit report to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2025, regarding potential solutions to increase the supply of gasoline through the production enhancement strategies identified by the commission in its 2024 assessment submitted to the Legislature and the Governor, as specified. Remains in the Senate Rules Committee.

View full bill text here

Would have required California Energy Commission to post and regularly update a dashboard on its website that includes the identification of all California-specific taxes, fees, regulations, and policies that contribute to gasoline prices within the State; the relative contribution of each of those to higher costs; and the extent to which these higher costs are passed on to consumers. Would have required the dashboard to also include the difference in average California gasoline prices compared to national prices, and any substantiated evidence of price gouging or other anticompetitive behavior within the petroleum industry, including the relative contribution of this behavior to the price difference. Remains in the Assembly Rules Committee.

View full bill text here

Would have prohibited CARB from amending the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations prior to January 1, 2026. Remains in the Assembly Rules Committee.

View full bill text here

Would have exempted transportation fuels from the Cap-and-Trade program. Would have required CARB to grant variances from CARB’s gasoline specifications, including for importation from outside the State, whenever a refinery outage or other similar supply interruption would otherwise result in substantial short-term price increases for California consumers and businesses. Would have required CARB to waive Reid vapor pressure requirements on summer-blend gasoline and allow for the early transition to winter-blend gasoline to lower gasoline prices for California consumers and businesses if CARB determines that the gasoline market is experiencing a sudden and unusual increase in gasoline prices. Did not receive a vote in the Assembly Petroleum and Gasoline Supply Committee.

View full bill text here

Would have authorized the Governor to certify sustainable aviation fuel projects for CEQA streamlining benefits, including a 270-day limit on challenges to an environmental impact report. Would have defined sustainable aviation fuel as meeting the requirements of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the standards for alternative jet fuels established by the ASTM International. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

View full bill text here

Would have prohibited CARB from including avoided methane emissions from the carbon intensity calculations when evaluating or re-evaluating dairy and livestock fuel pathways in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Was not heard in the Assembly Agriculture Committee.

Would have required CARB, in administering the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, to deem a Tier 2 pathway application certified if CARB does not take action within 15 days or receipt, or if the application has been pending for more than 60 days as of January 1, 2024. The bill also would have required CARB to revise the alternative diesel fuel regulations to authorize the sale of alternative diesel fuel that contains up to 20% biodiesel by volume. Was not heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

View full bill text here

Would have exempted transportation fuels from the Cap-and-Trade program. This bill also would have required CARB to grant variances to gasoline specifications as specified and would have waived the Reid Vapor Pressure requirement to allow for the early transition to winter-blend gasoline when CARB determines the gasoline market is experiencing a sudden and unusual rise in prices. Failed passage in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

View full bill text here

Summary 

Would have required the California Energy Commission to form a 21-member Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Taskforce, upon appropriation by the Legislature, and would have required the taskforce to prepare a report by January 1, 2027, with information on existing fueling infrastructure and recommendations for how it might be used in conjunction with alternative fuels infrastructure at retail gasoline fueling stations, among other things.

View full bill text here

Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 983 without my signature.

This bill would require the California Energy Commission (CEC) to form the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Task Force to conduct a study with information and recommendations on existing fueling infrastructure and how it might be used in conjunction with alternative fuels infrastructure at retail gasoline fueling stations.

This bill's implementation would result in additional cost pressure on the CEC's primary operating fund. Additionally, many provisions of this bill are duplicative of existing law, which requires the CEC, in consultation with various state entities, to prepare a transportation fuels transition plan.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

View Governor’s veto message here