BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                       AB 761


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         ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


         AB  
         761 (Levine)


         As Amended  June 2, 2015


         Majority vote


          ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
         |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                 |Noes                 |
         |                |      |                     |                     |
         |                |      |                     |                     |
         |----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
         |Natural         |8-1   |Williams, Dahle,     |Harper               |
         |Resources       |      |                     |                     |
         |                |      |Cristina Garcia,     |                     |
         |                |      |Hadley, McCarty,     |                     |
         |                |      |Rendon,              |                     |
         |                |      |                     |                     |
         |                |      |Mark Stone, Wood     |                     |
         |                |      |                     |                     |
         |----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
         |Water           |13-2  |Levine, Bigelow,     |Beth Gaines, Harper  |
         |                |      |Dababneh, Dahle,     |                     |
         |                |      |Dodd, Cristina       |                     |
         |                |      |Garcia, Gomez,       |                     |
         |                |      |Lopez, Mathis,       |                     |
         |                |      |Medina, Rendon,      |                     |
         |                |      |Salas, Williams      |                     |
         |                |      |                     |                     |
         |----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
         |Appropriations  |13-0  |Gomez, Bonta,        |                     |
         |                |      |Calderon, Chang,     |                     |
         |                |      |Daly, Eggman,        |                     |








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         |                |      |Eduardo Garcia,      |                     |
         |                |      |Gordon, Holden,      |                     |
         |                |      |Quirk, Rendon,       |                     |
         |                |      |Weber, Wood          |                     |
         |                |      |                     |                     |
         |                |      |                     |                     |
          ------------------------------------------------------------------- 


         SUMMARY:  Requires, upon appropriation of funding by the  
         Legislature, the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to  
         establish a grant program to fund projects that increase carbon  
         sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction on  
         agricultural lands, ranches and rangelands.  Specifically, this  
         bill:  


         1)Provides that a project shall be eligible for grant funding if  
           the project is both on working lands and assists the state in  
           meeting its GHG emission reduction goals.


         2)Requires CDFA to prioritize funding for projects that provide the  
           greatest level of the following benefits:


            a)   Demonstrate carbon farming;


            b)   Sequester carbon in agricultural soils;


            c)   Achieve related cobenefits such as reduced irrigation  
              demand, increased yield, enhanced habitat, reduced water  
              quality impacts, and enhanced soil structure.


         3)Requires CDFA, in consultation with the Department of  
           Conservation (DOC), the Department of Resources Recycling and  








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           Recovery, the State Air Resources Board (ARB), and the Department  
           of Water Resources (DWR), to develop and adopt project  
           solicitation and evaluation guidelines to implement the grant  
           program.


         4)Requires CDFA to quantify the benefits of each project funded and  
           post the evaluation information on their Internet Web site.


         


         FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:  



         1)Unknown cost pressures.


         2)Increased initial and ongoing costs for CDFA, in the range of $2  
           million (unspecified fund) to develop and administer the program  
           (based on a $50 million program).   


         3)Absorbable costs for the DOC, Department of Resources Recycling  
           and Recovery, ARB, and DWR.


         COMMENTS:


         1)Purpose.  According to the author, this bill will fund 15 to  
           20 pilot projects to expand the use of sustainable  
           agricultural practices, including compost application, on  
           rangelands and other agricultural lands.  The author states  
           research shows that these pilots are expected to increase  
           soil carbon sequestration (reduce greenhouse gasses),  
           improve soil water retention, and make agricultural land  








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           more resilient to climate change and drought. 


         2)Is this just about compost?  The Marin Carbon Project began as  
           a compost experiment seven years ago on a Marin County ranch.   
           This experiment uncovered a way to remove carbon dioxide from  
           the air through application of compost on rangeland soil.  The  
           project hopes to turn the rangelands of California into a tool  
           to meet the state's GHG reduction goals.  These experiments on  
           the grazing lands in Marin County and the Sierra Foothills of  
           Yuba County by University of California (UC) Berkeley  
           bio-geochemist Whendee Silver showed that a one-time  
           application of compost substantially boosted the soil's carbon  
           storage.  The effect has persisted over six years, and Silver  
           believes the carbon will remain stored for at least several  
           decades.  Last year, the Governor signed AB 1826 (Chesbro),  
           Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014, which required generators of  
           specified amounts of organic waste to arrange recycling  
           services for the organic waste material.  As the state diverts  
           more organic waste from landfills, much of the organic waste  
           could be turned into compost.  The Marin Carbon Project with  
           the help of UC Berkeley has demonstrated the benefits of  
           compost application on rangelands.  Compost can also be used on  
           croplands and home gardens.  The state has a role in developing  
           markets for compost and collecting data on the benefits of it  
           uses. 


           This bill creates a grant program that will fund projects that  
           increase carbon in soils through compost application, yet the  
           supporters have identified other practices that they wish be  
           included in the grant program.  These practices include tillage  
           management, nutrient management, windbreaks, specific  
           plantings, habitat enhancement, and other improved management  
           practices, which they believe will increase carbon  
           sequestration and reduce GHG emissions.  Therefore, the grant  
           program created by this bill will look for projects on working  
           lands that help the state meet its GHG emission goals, but  
           those projects will not be limited to compost application and  








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           will not be limited to rangelands. 


         3)Healthy Soils.   Increased carbon is soils produces multiple  
           benefits, including increased water holding capacity, increased  
           crop yields and decreased sediment erosion. The Governor's May  
           Revision proposes to spend $20 million from AB 32 (Núñez),  
           Chapter 488, Statues of 2006, cap and trade revenues (Greenhouse  
           Gas Reduction Fund) to fund demonstration projects that increase  
           carbon in soils.  Recent amendments were intended to align this  
           bill with the Governor's initiative.   


         Analysis Prepared by:                                               
         Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092  FN: 0000853