California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have required all electric vehicle traction batteries, as defined, sold with motor vehicles in the State to be recovered and reused, repurposed, remanufactured, or recycled at the end of their useful life in a motor vehicle or any other application. The bill would have also required a vehicle manufacturer, dealer, automobile dismantler, automotive repair dealer, and nonvehicle secondary user to be responsible for ensuring the responsible end-of-life management of an electric vehicle traction battery once it is removed from a vehicle or other application to which the electric vehicle traction battery has been used. CARB’s interest was conformity with technical specifications used in CARB’s regulations.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 615 without my signature.

This bill would require that all electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the state be reused, repaired, repurposed, or remanufactured, and eventually recycled at the end of their useful life. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) would be responsible for adopting regulations to implement and enforce the bill's requirements, and for establishing a method for EV battery suppliers, secondary users, secondary handlers, and qualified facilities to report EV battery transactions.

I agree with the intent of this bill and the need to responsibly manufacture, recycle, and reuse EV batteries. As California continues to lead the revolution toward a zero-emission transportation future, with a requirement that all new vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035, responsibly tracking the sale, use, and reuse of these vehicle batteries will be critical. Effective EV battery stewardship also presents an exciting opportunity to develop new innovative industries that use repurposed or recycled batteries.

California has successfully implemented many reuse and recycling systems. These market-based solutions significantly reduce waste and create jobs by turning a challenging product into a resource. However, this legislation places a significant burden on DTSC to implement the policy, instead of building on the success of existing producer responsibility models. I encourage the author to continue working with stakeholders to explore if a producer responsibility organization would yield more equilibrium among public agencies and industry in sharing the administrative burden required by this policy.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Would have eliminated the requirement for CARB to credit dairy methane projects for a minimum of 10 years and prohibited CARB from guaranteeing those credits if they would not otherwise generate credits in the program. The bill also would have required CARB to include new specific emissions when calculating a carbon intensity value for dairy methane projects, limited credit generation to historical herd size, and required public disclosure of specified information in fuel pathway applications from dairy methane projects. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have repealed existing law authorizing the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to adopt regulations to establish management standards for metal shredding facilities for hazardous waste management activities within DTSC’s jurisdiction, and would have established a new comprehensive regulatory framework within DTSC for metal shredding facilities. The bill would have repealed existing law that provides that treated metal shredder waste that is managed in accordance with those regulations is deemed to be solid waste, and not hazardous waste. Was not heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Enacts the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, which would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 if approved by voters, for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience; wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions; climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands; park creation and outdoor access; and clean air programs.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, on or before December 31, 2025, in consultation with the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to complete an assessment of the use of hydrogen in certain applications, as specified. The bill would have required CARB to evaluate a number of things, including the potential for reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases using hydrogen for the application and the energy efficiency of using hydrogen for the application. The bill also would have required CARB, CEC, and CPUC to consider the findings in the assessment in their plans, rulemakings, reports, or other processes related to the planning, implementation, or regulation of hydrogen production, distribution, storage, or usage in the State. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary 

Would have eliminated the requirement for CARB to credit dairy methane projects for a minimum of 10 years and prohibited

CARB from guaranteeing those credits if they would not otherwise generate credits in the program. The bill also  would have required CARB to include new specific emissions when calculating a carbon intensity value for dairy methane projects, limited credit generation to historical herd size, and required public disclosure of specified information in fuel pathway applications from dairy methane projects. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary 

Enacts the Park Creation and Outdoor, Access, and Clean Energy Bond Act of 2024, which would authorize $15.5 billion in bonds, if approved by voters, at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election. As related to CARB, the bond allocates $150 million to CARB, and requires CARB to consult with the California Natural Resources Agency and State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to fund projects that provide long-term capital infrastructure to convert forest and other vegetative waste removed for wildfire mitigation to uses that maximize reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions, provide local air quality benefits, and increase local community resilience against climate change impacts. The bill also provides $500 million upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the California Energy Commission, in coordination with CARB, for grants to assist in obtaining, or as a match for, federal grants. Hearing postponed in the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

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Summary 

Would have required CARB in consultation with the California Office of Planning and Research and the California Department of Transportation, to develop a methodology for assessing and spatially representing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and develop maps to display average VMT per capita in the state at the local, regional, and statewide level. This bill also would have required the CARB to work with local agencies to assess whether regional maps of average VMT created by local agencies could be incorporated into the CARB maps, as specified. Would have required CARB to adopt the VMT methodology by January 1, 2025, publish the maps within 6 months, update both at least once every 4 years, and make both available on CARB's website. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required the Department of Housing and Community Development to research, develop, and consider proposing for adoption mandatory building standards for the installation of electric charging infrastructure for parking spaces in new, multifamily dwellings.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 1482 without my signature.

This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to research, develop, and consider proposing for adoption mandatory building standards for the installation of electric charging infrastructure for parking spaces in new, multifamily dwellings.

I agree with the author's intent to increase access to EV charging technology for Californians living in multifamily housing, which is necessary to increase the number of zero emission vehicles on the road. However, I believe this issue is best addressed administratively in order to balance our charging objectives with our efforts to expand affordable housing.

The Department of Housing and Community Development is already working with numerous stakeholders and state agencies in a deliberative public process to aggressively expand mandatory EV charging requirements in new housing developments. This approach allows for other important considerations, such as the cost of affordable housing and feasibility of implementation.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

View Governor's veto message here

Summary

Would have established, until January 1, 2028, the State-Regional Collaborative for Climate, Equity, and Resilience to provide guidance, by January 1, 2024, to CARB for approving new guidelines for sustainable communities strategies (SCS) and would have required CARB to update the guidelines for SCSs to incorporate Collaborative suggestions by December 2025. The Collaborative would have been chaired by CARB and consisted of one representative of the California Transportation Agency, the California Housing Department, and the California Strategic Growth Council, along with 10 public members representing local and State organizations, as specified. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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