Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: high-speed rail: forestry and fire protection.

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 the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing law continuously appropriates 35% of the annual proceeds of the fund for transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities programs and 25% of the annual proceeds of the fund for certain components of a specified high-speed rail project. This bill would no longer continuously appropriate 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for certain components of a specified high-speed rail project. The bill, beginning with the 2021–22 fiscal year, would continuously appropriate 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to purchase new engines and equipment, hire new firefighters, and clear overgrowth or tree mortality and to the Firefighter Home Relief Trust Fund Program. This bill would establish the Firefighter Home Relief Trust Fund Program to be administered by the department to provide grant funding for resident firefighters who lost their primary residence due to a wildfire or natural disaster, as specified. The bill would create the Firefighter Home Relief Trust Fund, where moneys appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund would be deposited and available for allocation under the program. This bill also would make a conforming change.