Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1324

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 27, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section 38501 end delete begin insert Sections 38501 and 38505 end insert of the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1324, as amended, Williams. California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

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. The act makes various findings and declarations. begin insert T end insert begin insert he act defines various terms, including “statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit,” for purposes of the act. end insert

This bill would make changes to those findings and declarations. begin insert The bill would revise the definition of “statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit.” end insert

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 38501 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

38501.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Global warming poses a serious threat to the economic
well-being, public health, natural resources, and the environment
of California. The potential adverse impacts of global warming
include the exacerbation of air quality problems, a reduction in
the quality and supply of water to the state from the Sierra
snowpack, a rise in sea levels resulting in the displacement of
thousands of coastal businesses and residences, damage to marine
ecosystems and the natural environment, and an increase in the
incidences of infectious diseases, asthma, and other human
health-related problems.

(b) Global warming will have detrimental effects on some of
California’s largest industries, including agriculture, wine, tourism,
skiing, recreational and commercial fishing, and forestry. It will
also increase the strain on electricity supplies necessary to meet
the demand for summer air-conditioning in the hottest parts of the
state.

(c) California has long been a national and international leader
on energy conservation and environmental stewardship efforts,
including the areas of air quality protections, energy efficiency
requirements, renewable energy standards, natural resource
conservation, and greenhouse gas emission standards for passenger
vehicles. The program established by this division will continue
this tradition of environmental leadership by placing California at
the forefront of national and international efforts to reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases.

(d) National and international actions are necessary to fully
address the issue of global warming. However, action taken by
California to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases will have
far-reaching effects by encouraging other states, the federal
government, and other countries to act.

(e) By exercising a global leadership role, California will also
position its economy, technology centers, financial institutions,
and businesses to benefit from national and international efforts
to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. More importantly,
investing in the development of innovative and pioneering
technologies will assist California in achieving the statewide limits
on emissions of greenhouse gases established by this division for
2020 and beyond and will provide an opportunity for the state to
take a global economic and technological leadership role in
reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air Resources
Board coordinate with state agencies, begin delete as well as end delete begin insert and end insert consult with
the environmental justice community, industry sectors, business
groups, academic institutions, environmental organizations, and
other stakeholders, in implementing this division.

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air Resources
Board consult with the Public Utilities Commission in the
development of emissions reduction measures, including limits on
emissions of greenhouse gases applied to electricity and natural
gas providers regulated by the Public Utilities Commission in order
to ensure that electricity and natural gas providers are not required
to meet duplicative or inconsistent regulatory requirements.

(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air Resources
Board design emissions reduction measures to meet the statewide
emissions limits for greenhouse gases established pursuant to this
division in a manner that minimizes costs and maximizes benefits
for California’s economy, improves and modernizes California’s
energy infrastructure and maintains electric system reliability,
maximizes additional environmental and economic co-benefits for
California, and complements the state’s efforts to improve air
quality.

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Climate Action
Team established by the Governor to coordinate the efforts set
forth under Executive Order S-3-05 continue its role in
coordinating overall climate policy.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 38505 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

38505.  

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

(a) “Allowance” means an authorization to emit, during a
specified year, up to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.

(b) “Alternative compliance mechanism” means an action
undertaken by a greenhouse gas emission source that achieves the
equivalent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over the same
time period as a direct emission reduction, and that is approved
by the state board. “Alternative compliance mechanism” includes,
but is not limited to, a flexible compliance schedule, alternative
control technology, a process change, or a product substitution.

(c) “Carbon dioxide equivalent” means the amount of carbon
dioxide by weight that would produce the same global warming
impact as a given weight of another greenhouse gas, based on the
best available science, including from the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change.

(d) “Cost-effective” or “cost-effectiveness” means the cost per
unit of reduced emissions of greenhouse gases adjusted for its
global warming potential.

(e) “Direct emission reduction” means a greenhouse gas
emission reduction action made by a greenhouse gas emission
source at that source.

(f) “Emissions reduction measure” means programs, measures,
standards, and alternative compliance mechanisms authorized
pursuant to this division, applicable to sources or categories of
sources, that are designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

(g) “Greenhouse gas” or “greenhouse gases” includes all of the
following gases:

(1) Carbon dioxide.

(2) Methane.

(3) Nitrous oxide.

(4) Hydrofluorocarbons.

(5) Perfluorocarbons.

(6) Sulfur hexafluoride.

(7) Nitrogen trifluoride.

(h) “Greenhouse gas emissions limit” means an authorization,
during a specified year, to emit up to a level of greenhouse gases
specified by the state board, expressed in tons of carbon dioxide
equivalents.

(i) “Greenhouse gas emission source” or “source” means any
source, or category of sources, of greenhouse gas emissions whose
emissions are at a level of significance, as determined by the state
board, that its participation in the program established under this
division will enable the state board to effectively reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and monitor compliance with the statewide
greenhouse gas emissions limit.

(j) “Leakage” means a reduction in emissions of greenhouse
gases within the state that is offset by an increase in emissions of
greenhouse gases outside the state.

(k) “Market-based compliance mechanism” means either of the
following:

(1) A system of market-based declining annual aggregate
emissions limitations for sources or categories of sources that emit
greenhouse gases.

(2) Greenhouse gas emissions exchanges, banking, credits, and
other transactions, governed by rules and protocols established by
the state board, that result in the same greenhouse gas emission
reduction, over the same time period, as direct compliance with a
greenhouse gas emission limit or emission reduction measure
adopted by the state board pursuant to this division.

(l) “State board” means the State Air Resources Board.

(m) “Statewide greenhouse gas emissions” means the total
annual emissions of greenhouse gases in the state, including all
emissions of greenhouse gases from the generation of electricity
delivered to and consumed in California, accounting for
transmission and distribution line losses, whether the electricity
is generated in state or imported. Statewide emissions shall be
expressed in tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.

(n) “Statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit” or “statewide
emissions limit” means the maximum allowable level of statewide
greenhouse gas emissions in begin delete 2020, end delete begin insert 2020 and beyond, end insert as determined
by the state board pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section
38550).