[Approved by Governor September 21, 2014. Filed with Secretary of State September 21, 2014.]
SB 605, Lara. Short-lived climate pollutants.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
This bill would require the state board to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, as defined, in the state.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 4.2 (commencing with Section 39730) is added to Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 38550 and 38551, no later than January 1, 2016, the state board shall complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants in the state. In developing the strategy, the state board shall do all of the following:
(1) Complete an inventory of sources and emissions of short-lived climate pollutants in the state based on available data.
(2) Identify research needs to address any data gaps.
(3) Identify existing and potential new control measures to reduce emissions.
(4) Prioritize the development of new measures for short-lived climate pollutants that offer cobenefits by improving water quality or reducing other air pollutants that impact community health and benefit disadvantaged communities, as identified pursuant to Section 39711.
(5) Coordinate with other state agencies and districts to develop measures identified as part of the comprehensive strategy.
(b) As part of the strategy developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the state board shall consult with experts in academia, industry, and the community on short-lived climate pollutants. The topics shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Assessment of the current status of controls that directly or indirectly reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants in the state.
(2) Identification of opportunities and challenges for controlling emissions.
(3) Recommendations to further reduce emissions.
(c) To provide a forum for public engagement, the state board shall hold at least one public workshop during the development of the strategy required pursuant to subdivision (a).
(d) For purposes of this section, “short-lived climate pollutant” means an agent that has a relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere, from a few days to a few decades, and a warming influence on the climate that is more potent than that of carbon dioxide.
(e) This section does not affect the existing authority of a state agency to adopt and implement rules and regulations that result in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or short-lived climate pollutants to the extent authorized or required by existing law.
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