Amended in Assembly April 21, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 15, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 761


Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chiu)

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February 25, 2015


An act to add Division 10.1 (commencing with Section 10100) to the Public Resources Code, relating to resource conservation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 761, as amended, Levine. Carbon sequestration: working lands.

Existing law, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995, requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program to provide incentives to farmers whose practices promote the well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their habitat.

This bill would declare that $50,000,000 shall be available, upon appropriation, to the department to establish a grant program to fundbegin insert voluntaryend insert projects that increase carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions on working lands, as defined. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the Department of Conservation, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Water Resources, to develop and adopt project solicitation and evaluation guidelines for the program, as specified.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) Robust, peer-reviewed, published data strongly support the
4hypothesis that soil and vegetation management can significantly
5enhance soil carbon sequestration, resulting in a wide range of
6environmental and agricultural cobenefits, including increased
7water retention in soils; improved water quality, soil health, and
8forage quantity and quality; reductions in greenhouse gases; and
9climate adaptation and resilience.

10(b) Numerous soil and vegetation management strategies exist
11and can be employed on farms, ranches, and working lands to
12sequester significant amounts of carbon in agricultural soils and
13vegetation, thus playing an important role in helping the state meet
14its 2020 goal in the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
152006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the
16Health and Safety Code) and 2050 goal in Executive Order S-3-05
17for climate change mitigation and greenhouse gas reduction. These
18management strategies include, but are not limited to, climate
19beneficial practices, such as riparian restoration, prescribed grazing,
20windbreaks, and compost application.

21(c) California’s agricultural lands and rangelands account for
22nearly 50 percent of the state’s land area, and hold the potential
23to sequester millions of metric tons of carbon, resulting in enhanced
24agricultural production and increased resilience to climate change
25and drought.

26

SEC. 2.  

Division 10.1 (commencing with Section 10100) is
27added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

28 

29Division 10.1.  Carbon Sequestration on
30Working Lands

31

 

32

10100.  

For purposes of this division, the following terms have
33the following meanings:

34(a) “Carbon farm planning” means a landscape-level
35conservation planning process designed to identify greenhouse
36gas emissions reduction and sequestration and mitigation
37opportunities on working lands and to quantify those greenhouse
P3    1gas benefits using the United States Department of Agriculture’s
2COMET-Planner, COMET-Farm, and other quantification tools.

3(b) “Department” means the Department of Food and
4Agriculture.

5(c) “Working lands” means privately-owned agricultural lands,
6ranches, and rangelands.

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10101.  

(a) The sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) shall
8be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the
9department to establish a grant program to fundbegin insert voluntaryend insert projects
10that increase carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions
11reductions on working lands consistent with subdivision (b).

12(b) (1) A project shall be eligible for funding pursuant to this
13division if both of the following criteria are met:

14(A) Is located on working lands.

15(B) Assists the state in meeting its greenhouse gas emissions
16reduction goals.

17(2) The department shall prioritize funding for projects pursuant
18to this division that provide the greatest level of the following
19benefits:

20(A) Demonstrate carbon farm planning.

21(B) Sequester carbon in agricultural soils.

22(C) Reduce irrigation demand.

23(D) Increase yield and productivity on working lands.

24(E) Enhance habitat.

25(F) Reduce water quality impacts from agricultural lands.

26(c) The department, in consultation with the Department of
27Conservation, the Department of Resources Recycling and
28Recovery, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of
29Water Resources, shall develop and adopt project solicitation and
30evaluation guidelines to implement this division.

31(d) The department shall quantify the benefits of each project
32funded pursuant to this division and shall post that information on
33the department’s Internet Web site.



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