BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2329| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2329 Author: Ruskin (D) Amended: 8/2/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/28/10 AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley NOES: Runner, Strickland ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-27, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Environmental protection: greenhouse gas emissions: climate action team SOURCE : Audubon California Defenders of Wildlife The Nature Conservancy DIGEST : This bill requires the Natural Resources Agency to develop a climate change adaptation strategy by 2012 and update it every three years. The bill establishes in statute the Climate Action Team and directs it to coordinate state policy to achieve the state's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. ANALYSIS : Under Executive Orders S-3-05 and S-20-06, the Governor established goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the state and directed the California Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate multi-agency CONTINUED AB 2329 Page 2 efforts to meet those goals. Under this authority, the Secretary for Environmental Protection created the Climate Action Team, which is made up of the heads several state agencies and departments. Under AB 32 (Nunez, Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006), the Air Resources Board is required to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emission limit, such that statewide emissions in 2020 are equal to emissions in 1990. The Air Resources Board is required to implement regulatory measures to reduce emissions to meet that target. Pursuant to AB 32, the Air Resources Board is currently considering the imposition of a fee on greenhouse gas emitters to pay for the state's regulatory costs under AB 32. Pursuant to Executive Order S-13-08, the Natural Resources Agency prepared the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy. The document summarizes the current scientific research into climate change impacts and provides recommendations on how to manage those impacts. This bill requires the Natural Resources Agency, in coordination with other state agencies, to prepare a climate change adaptation report by June 1, 2012 and update that report every three years. The plan required under the bill shall follow up on the findings of the 2009 plan and address progress on the strategies identified in that plan. The bill specifies that the required plan will serve as the state's climate adaptation document for purposes of any federal law requiring such a plan. Based on the requirements in the bill and the state's experience developing the previous plan, staff estimates the cost to develop the new plan and required updates to be about $350,000 per year. These costs would be covered with a variety of funding sources, including the General Fund, bond funds, and several special funds. Once the Air Resources Board begins collecting its greenhouse gas emission fee, those fee revenues could be used to offset these costs. This bill establishes the Climate Action Team which is to be chaired by the Secretary for Environmental Protection, with a specified membership of agency and department heads. AB 2329 Page 3 This bill authorizes the Climate Action Team to establish staff working groups to address issues relating to specific issues. The bill directs the Climate Action Team to coordinate state efforts to achieve the state's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. While the Climate Action Team currently operates based on executive orders and administrative action by the Secretary for Environmental Protection, this bill puts these requirements into law. This creates ongoing funding requirements on CalEPA and other departments (which cannot be undone by a future governor, unlike executive orders and administrative decisions). Therefore the bill imposes ongoing costs to the various agencies and departments. CalEPA indicates that it currently has five staff positions supporting activities of the Climate Action Team. Continuing this level of support will cost about $500,000 per year. These costs are currently supported from the Air Pollution Control Fund (which has been supported by several loans from other special funds). The Air Resources Board is currently considering the imposition of a fee on greenhouse gas emitters which will likely support Climate Action Team activities in the future. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Unable to verify at time of writing) Audubon California (co-source) Defenders of Wildlife (co-source) The Nature Conservancy (co-source) Calcoast California Council of Land Trusts Clean Power Campaign Coalition for Clean Air Coastwalk California East Bay Municipal Utility District Forests Forever Planning and Conservation League OPPOSITION : (Unable to verify at time of writing) AB 2329 Page 4 California Building Industry Association California Business Properties Association California Chamber of Commerce California Forestry Association California Manufacturers & Technology Association Western States Petroleum Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Coalition for Clean Air states in support that, "In order to meet the statewide [GHG] emissions standards promulgated by the [CGWSA], a tremendous collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort is needed. AB 2329 seeks to promote this effort by codifying the [CAT] consisting of representatives from a broad range of state agencies whose expertise and knowledge will greatly benefit our efforts to successfully address climate change. The extent of potential impacts associated with global climate change, coupled with the highly technical nature of the problem, make policy coordination absolutely crucial? Clearly, an integrated multi-agency, bi-partisan effort is needed for California to successfully address climate change." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents believe that placing coordination roles "in statute severely limits the flexibility and usefulness of these arrangements in the future. A better approach would be to rely on an existing legislative committee to keep abreast of agency actions, hosting informational hearings and passing specific legislation to reorganize government if necessary to align staff and leadership around important state issues." Opponents further note that "It can be a confusing and costly process for stakeholders to participate in an umbrella 'organization' and the Governor and Legislature should not create such bodies without a real need and a relevant purpose. The existing [CAT] should be retired when it no longer serves a purpose, not permanently established in statute." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, AB 2329 Page 5 Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huffman, Jones, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, Silva, Smyth, Tran, Villines NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Audra Strickland, Vacancy TSM:nl 8/31/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****