California Air Resources Board

Summary

Provides, during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor that is based on an emergency resulting in a loss of electrical service to any part of the State, that the regulations adopted under statutory direction prohibiting engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines, and any other regulations adopted by CARB governing the emissions of portable or emergency backup generators, shall not apply to the sale or purchase of portable or emergency backup generators. The bill allows a tax credit for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, equal to the amount incurred by a person or small business, during the taxable year for the purchase of a backup generator, as specified. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Repeals the prohibition on compensation of the board members of CARB from local air districts and specifies that those board members are to receive the annual salary provided to other board members of CARB. Was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Would have formally expanded the California Department of Recycling and Resource Recovery’s (CalRecycle’s) California Climate Investments Food Waste Prevention grant program to provide financial assistance for the recovery of edible food, as specified. The bill also would have specified that eligible infrastructure projects included the construction or expansion of facilities to help develop, implement, or expand edible food waste recovery operation and required CalRecycle to consider the increased amount of edible food recovery capacity that the project will create when awarding a grant for edible food recovery. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have established, until January 1, 2035, the Office of Regulatory Counsel (Office) within the Governor’s office, under the directionand control of a director appointed by the Governor, as specified. The bill would have required the Office to draft and assist in the preparation, consideration, amendment, and repeal of regulations for a State agency, before the State agency submits a proposed action regarding that regulation to the Office of Administrative Law for publication in the California Regulatory Notice Register. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Requires all State agencies, including their departments, boards, offices, commissions, and conservancies, to consider the 30x30 goal when adopting, revising, or establishing plans, policies, or regulations, and shall ensure, to the extent feasible, that the plan, policy, or regulation is not inconsistent with the 30x30 goal. Was not heard in the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization.

Would have required State agencies to prioritize strategies to reduce methane emissions, including emissions from imported petroleum and natural gas, where feasible and cost effective and would have required CARB to encourage natural gas procurement on behalf of the State to shift to certified natural gas producing low methane emissions, as verified by "measure, monitor, report, and verify” (MMRV) protocols. The bill also would have authorized CARB, the Public Utilities Commission, and other relevant agencies to assess existing programs and apply MMRV protocols to reduce methane emissions, including emissions from imported petroleum and natural gas procured by utilities and other large gas users, utilizing all relevant sources and standards, including, but not limited to, emissions data, models, or protocols from existing or new regulations.

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Governor’s Veto Message:

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 613 without my signature.

This bill requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Air Resources Board (CARB), and other state agencies to prioritize strategies to reduce methane emissions, including from imported fossil natural gas. This bill also authorizes state agencies to apply "measure, monitor, report, and verify" (MMRV) protocols and directs the CPUC to assess whether shifting to certified low-methane natural gas is consistent with the interests of ratepayers.

Fossil natural gas is primarily composed of methane gas, which is a short-lived climate pollutant with a global warming potential more than 80 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The potency of this gas and its climate impact have prompted numerous legislative and regulatory efforts over the years to quantify, identify, and minimize fugitive methane emissions from fossil natural gas infrastructure and to deploy cost-effective leak abatement investments and programs. Currently, our state imports up to 90 percent of its fossil natural gas from out-of-state and relies on this energy source to fuel critical industries and provide essential heating services to many Californians. This demand is expected to decrease in the coming years as we move closer to our 2045 carbon neutrality goal. During this period, we must not lose sight of the state's immediate needs as we continue our collective efforts to transition to clean gaseous fuels and clean electricity.

While well-intended, this bill establishes new requirements that are unclear, duplicative, and risk increasing costs for gas customers in the near term, and could jeopardize fossil natural gas service reliability. I encourage the CPUC, CARB, and other state agencies to continue existing efforts to further minimize methane emissions from the fossil natural gas sector thoughtfully and pragmatically, while continuing to advance the production and use of clean fuels and the clean electrification of many end-uses in the state.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Requires, subject to available funding, air monitoring initiated in a community under the Community Air Protection Program to continue at least five years, requires CARB to update and formally approve the “monitoring plan” by July 1, 2026, and requires CARB, in consultation with air districts, to report on progress on the implementation of community air monitoring, as specified, by March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter to appropriate subcommittees of the budget committee of each house of the Legislature. The bill also states the existence of the Bureau of Environmental Justice within California’s Department of Justice.

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Eliminates the continuous appropriation of 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to the High-Speed Rail Authority on June 30, 2026, and beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, and until December 31, 2030, requires 25% of the annual proceeds of the GGRF to be transferred to the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account (MVFA). Beginning July 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, the bill reduces the rate of the tax imposed upon each gallon of fuel by a specified percentage based annually on the amount transferred to the MVFA from the GGRF. Failed passage in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and was granted reconsideration.

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Would have requiredCARB, on or before January 1, 2028, to publish on its website an assessment of the life-cycle emissions from alternative uses of forest and agricultural biomass residues. The bill also would have required CARB, on or before January 1, 2028, to complete a comprehensive strategy to support beneficial carbon removal products generated from agricultural or forest biomass resources, including, but not limited to, biochar, as specified. This bill also would have required the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to require, as feasible, for State-funded forest health projects, a disposal plan describing how much biomass residue should be physically removed versus burned by prescribed burn. The bill also would have required the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to investigate the use of biomass fuel made from biomass residues, as specified.

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Governor’s Veto Message:

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 88 without my signature.

This bill would require the California Air Resources Board to develop specified methods and protocols to quantify the avoided emissions and beneficial uses of forest and agricultural biomass. This bill also would direct the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to require forest health projects to include a resource disposal component, and the California Energy Commission to include biomass-derived low- and negative-carbon fuels in certain reports.

Throughout my Administration, I have been supportive of advancing methods and practices to sustainably address the growing amount of woody biomass waste in the state, primarily due to the risk it presents of exacerbating catastrophic wildfires. This is why my Administration, for years, has recommended and acted on strategies to address this challenge and risk.

While I applaud the authors' desire to further this work, most of the requirements in this bill are duplicative of existing efforts. At the same time, other provisions would trigger new and substantial costs at each of the affected agencies not accounted for in the 2025 Budget Act. In partnership with the Legislature this year, my Administration has enacted a balanced budget that recognizes the challenging fiscal landscape our state faces while maintaining our commitment to working families and our most vulnerable communities. With significant fiscal pressures and the federal government's hostile economic policies, it is vital that we remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications that are not included in the budget, such as this measure.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Extends, until January 1, 2035, existing law that requires the California Transportation Agency, in consultation with the California Transportation Commission, to implement the road usage charge pilot program, as specified, and that currently repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027. Was not heard in the Assembly Committee on Transportation.

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