California Air Resources Board

Summary

Repeals obsolete code sections that required CARB to determine the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impacts of proposed sports complex development projects in Los Angeles and Sacramento. CARB's GHG determination, combined with many other environmental requirements, allowed the projects to qualify for expedited review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

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Summary

Would have required CARB by December 31, 2025, to include in the SB 901 report, which assesses GHG emissions associated with wildfire and forest management activities, a methodology to quantify GHG and short-lived climate pollutant emissions, including black carbon from wildfire, pile burning, and forest management activities and a list of the data needed to use the methodology. This bill would have also established a Forest Waste Biomass Utilization Program to be administered by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation, would have required the California Natural Resources Agency to facilitate the inclusion of recommendations for forest biomass waste utilization in relevant State climate adaptation plans, and would have required the California Energy Commission to report on innovative bioenergy technologies that utilize forest biomass waste. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB to prepare an assessment, as specified, through a research contract, that quantifies the reduction in GHG emissions, measured in MMCO2e, resulting from work-from-home options offered by employers in the State as compared to overall statewide GHG emission reductions the same year. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development to reject the housing element of a planning agency's annual progress report, which explains its progress toward meeting its regional housing needs assessment target, if the report does not contain the required data on housing or is otherwise out of compliance.

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Summary

Would have required the establishment a State natural carbon sequestration goal in California of at least 60,000,000 MTCO2e annually by 2030, and 75,000,000 MTCO2e annually by 2035 and would have also required on December 31, 2025, and every year thereafter, CNRA and CARB to submit a progress report to the Legislature. Held on suspense in Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have allowed the California Coastal Commission (CCC) to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the State’s natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies and would have required the CCC to consult with CARB and other entities when developing the blue carbon demonstration project program. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have added “climate change” to the definition of the term “disaster” for the purposes of the California Disaster Assistance Act, and would have specified that mitigation measures for climate change and disasters related to climate may include measures that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and investments in natural infrastructure, as specified.Moved to the Senate Inactive File.

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Summary

Would have required specified state transportation programs to incorporate strategies from the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) into program guidelines, as provided, and required the California Transportation Agency, the California Transportation Commission, and the California Department of Transportation to establish new transparency and accountability guidelines for certain transportation funding programs, as specified.

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• Category: Transportation Planning, Land Use, and Housing

Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Assembly: 

I am returning Assembly Bill 2438 without my signature.

This bill requires the alignment of certain transportation funding programs with the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) adopted in July 2021, and requires additional public transparency procedures in the project selection process for various transportation programs.

While I share the goal of addressing the impacts of the transportation sector on climate change, this bill is unnecessary. Work is well under way at the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the California Transportation Commission to align funding programs in the bill with CAPTI, with several actions already completed.

CalSTA is committed to reviewing outcomes and integrating public feedback in future years to make modifications to CAPTI, as necessary, to meet the needs of the statewide transportation system. Linking these programs in statute to a specific iteration of this plan inhibits the state's ability to appropriately respond to the evolution of the state's response to climate change.

A draft Annual Report on CAPTI Implementation Progress will be released in October of this year, outlining the progress made on CAPTI implementation since its adoption last July. My Administration will continue collaborating with transportation stakeholders to increase program funding accountability and transparency as well as enhance financial planning for climate change impacts to transportation infrastructure.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.


Sincerely, 

Gavin Newsom

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Summary

Would have required a minimum of 40percent of funds received by the State as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to be allocated to projects with direct benefits to disadvantaged communities and an additional 10 percent to be allocated for projects that provide benefits to low-income communities. It would have also established the Justice40 Advisory Committee to provide a recommendation for projects to fund under these requirements. Held on suspense in Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Stipulates that the San Diego Association of Governments may implement every component of its Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy, as specified.

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