BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2329|
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                                 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





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          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.  







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           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)








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          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,  







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            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

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