BILL NUMBER: AB 151 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 25, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Vargas
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Firebaugh, Montanez, Mullin,
and Yee)
JANUARY 21, 2003
An act to add Section 41514.15 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to air pollution, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 151, as amended, Vargas. Air pollution: importation of
electrical energy: mitigation fee.
(1) Existing law designates air pollution control districts and
air quality management districts as having the primary responsibility
for the control of air pollution from all sources other than
vehicular sources. Existing law also designates the State Air
Resources Board as the state entity responsible for the coordination
and review of all levels of government in their efforts to control
air pollution.
This bill would require any person that imports electrical energy
into the state, or causes electricity to be imported into the state,
to , commencing January 1, 2004, pay up to a $0.001 per
kilowatthour air contaminant emission mitigation fee for that
electricity, but not to exceed the cost of mitigation, as determined
by the state board. The bill would authorize the state board,
commencing January 1, 2006, to reduce that fee to a lower amount,
upon making a determination that the lower fee amount would further
enhance reductions of emissions of air contaminants. The bill
would impose the fee only if the electricity is produced by an
electrical generating facility, as defined, that is
located within an air basin shared by a district and Mexico and
located in Mexico within 100 kilometers of the United States border.
Additionally, under the bill, the fee would only apply if the
electrical generating facility's initial production of electricity
occurred after January 1, 2003, and the state board determines that
the electrical generating facility was not constructed using the best
available control technology (BACT) for air contaminants.
The bill would establish the Imported Electricity Air Pollution
Mitigation Subaccount in the Air Pollution Control Fund, and would
require the air contaminant emission mitigation fees to be deposited
in that subaccount. The bill would make the moneys deposited in the
subaccount from the mitigation fees continuously appropriated without
regard to fiscal years, thereby making an appropriation.
The bill would require the state board to distribute the revenues
generated from the mitigation fees to each district in the state that
the state board determines is directly impacted by emissions of air
contaminants from those electrical generating facilities, and would
require each district receiving those revenues to fund projects
within their jurisdiction to mitigate the environmental or health
impacts of electricity generation facilities. By prescribing
additional duties on districts, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 41514.15 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:
41514.15. (a) Any person that imports electrical energy into the
state, or causes electricity to be imported into the state, shall pay
an electrical generation fee in the amount described in subdivision
(b) to the state board to mitigate the air pollution caused by the
generation of that electricity, if the electrical generating facility
that generated the electricity meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Is located within an air basin shared by a district and
Mexico, as determined by the state board.
(2) Is located in Mexico.
(3) Is located within 100 kilometers of the United States border.
(4) First produced electricity after January 1, 2003.
(5) Was not constructed using the best available control
technology (BACT) for air contaminants, as determined by the state
board.
(b) The Commencing January 1, 2004, the
electricity generation mitigation fee described in subdivision
(a) shall be assessed by the state board at a rate of not more than
$0.001 per kilowatthour of electricity that is imported into the
state, but not to exceed the cost that the state board determines is
necessary to mitigate the environmental or health impacts of
electricity generation facilities meeting the criteria described in
subdivision (a) and any associated administrative costs to each
impacted district. Commencing January 1, 2006, the state board
may impose a fee less than the $0.01 per kilowatthour of electricity
imposed by this subdivision, if the state board determines that the
lower fee amount would further enhance reductions of emissions of air
contaminants.
(c) The fees collected by the state board pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall be deposited into the Imported Electricity Air Pollution
Mitigation Subaccount, which is hereby established in the Air
Pollution Control Fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, moneys deposited in the subaccount pursuant to this
section shall be continuously appropriated to the state board,
without regard to fiscal years, for the purposes described in
subdivision (d).
(d) (1) The state board shall distribute the revenues that are
deposited in the subaccount pursuant to this section to each district
that the state board determines is directly impacted by emissions of
air contaminants from an electrical generating facility that meets
the criteria described in subdivision (a), in the proportion that the
state board determines the district is impacted.
(2) A district receiving revenues pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
utilize those moneys to fund projects within their jurisdiction that
the district determines will mitigate the environmental or health
impacts of electricity generation facilities meeting the criteria
described in subdivision (a).
(e) For the purposes of this section, "electrical generating
facility" means every electrical generating unit of a powerplant that
is located at a common site in Mexico. If more than one electrical
generating unit exists at a powerplant project, all of the electrical
generating units shall be deemed to be part of one electrical
generating facility.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.