California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: market-based compliance mechanisms.

(1) 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 act authorizes the state board to include use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law prohibits a state agency from linking a market-based compliance mechanism with any other state, province, or country unless the state agency notifies the Governor. Existing law requires the Governor to issue specified findings within 45 days of receiving that notice from a state agency and to provide those findings to the Legislature. This bill would add to the findings required to be issued by the Governor and provided to the Legislature in those circumstances. (2) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the state board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. This bill would require the state board to adopt a regulation establishing as a market-based compliance mechanism a market-based program of emissions limits, applicable on and after January 1, 2021, for covered entities, as defined. The bill would require the program to set an initial minimum reserve price of $20 per allowance, as defined, and an initial auction offer price of $30 per allowance when auctioning allowances. The bill would require the program to increase the minimum reserve price each quarter by $1.25 plus any increase in the Consumer Price Index, and the auction offer price each quarter by $2.50 plus any increase in the Consumer Price Index, as specified. The bill would authorize the state board to revise the definition of a covered entity, as specified. The bill would establish the Economic Competitive Assurance Program, to be administered by the state board, to ensure that importers that sell, supply, or offer for sale in the state a greenhouse gas emission intensive product have economically fair and competitive conditions and to maintain economic parity between producers that are subject to the market-based program of emissions limits and those who sell like goods instate that are not subject to that program, as specified. This bill would establish the California Climate Infrastructure Fund, the California Climate Dividend Fund, and the California Climate and Clean Energy Research Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board, in consultation with the Climate Dividend Access Board, which the bill would establish, to develop and implement a program to deliver quarterly per capita dividends to all residents of the state that would maximize the ease with which residents of the state may enroll in the program, as specified. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.