California Air Resources Board

Summary

Extends requirements on electric investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and community choice aggregators (CCAs) to procure energy from biomass generating electric facilities to July 1, 2025. This bill also expands eligibility of the five-year extension to procurement contracts from biomass facilities to include facilities located in a local air district that voluntarily reclassifies to Severe or Extreme air quality nonattainment status. The biomass generator is required to first obtain a letter or certificate from the relevant air district that states that the Sacramento federal ozone nonattainment area voluntarily opted to be reclassified and that the continued operation of the facility does not impede the local air district's ability to meet its applicable requirements.

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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.

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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.

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Summary 

This bill would have required CARB to exempt agricultural vehicles and specialty agricultural vehicles that do not exceed 10,000 miles of operation annually from any regulation to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and other criteria air pollutants from in-use, diesel-fueled vehicles.The bill would also have prohibited CARB from adopting any regulation that requires an off-road agricultural vehicle or piece of equipment to satisfy any zero-emission requirement.Was amended to deal with the Drought Relief Grant Program.

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Summary 

This bill would have exempted transportation fuels from the Cap-and-Trade program. It 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.

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Summary

Would have revised AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, by charging CARB with only the responsibility of regulating vehicular sources of greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would have charged each local air district with the responsibility of regulating all sources, other than vehicular sources, of greenhouse gas emissions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within its jurisdiction. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have exempted from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) a project financed pursuant to the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019, and would make all legal actions, proceedings, and decisions undertaken or made pursuant to the program exempt from CEQA. Was not heard in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.

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Summary

Would have required the California Natural Resources Agency to develop and implement a fuels transportation program that provides grants to eligible communities to offset the cost of transporting fuels to a biomass energy facility. The bill would have also made funds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund available to facilitate the grant program. Failed passage 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 revise AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, by charging CARB with only the responsibility of regulating vehicular sources of greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would charge each local air district with the responsibility of regulating all sources, other than vehicular sources, of greenhouse gas emissions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within its jurisdiction. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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