Carbon sequestration: state goals: natural and working lands: registry of projects.

(1) Existing law establishes in state government the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency, each generally responsible for the sound fiscal management of each department, office, or other unit within the agency, as prescribed. Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture to, among other duties and authorities, promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Existing law provides funds to the department, as specified, for grants to promote practices on farms and ranches that improve agricultural and open-space soil health, carbon soil sequestration, erosion control, water quality, and water retention. Existing law establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. Existing law, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, requires the 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, no later than July 1, 2021, that the Natural Resources Agency, in coordination with the California Environmental Protection Agency, the board, and the department establish carbon sequestration goals for natural and working lands, as defined. The bill would require the board to include specified carbon dioxide removal targets as part of its scoping plan. (2) Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research as the comprehensive state planning agency to, among other duties and authorities, engage in the formulation, evaluation, and updating of long-range goals and policies for land use, population growth and distribution, urban expansion, development, open space, resource preservation and utilization, air and water quality, and other factors that shape statewide development patterns and significantly influence the quality of the state's environment. This bill would require, beginning on January 1, 2021, that the office maintain a registry called the California Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resiliency Project Registry for the purposes of identifying and listing carbon sequestration projects in the state that are seeking funding from state agencies or private entities. The bill would require, no later than July 1, 2021, that the office, in collaboration with the Strategic Growth Council, create an application process for project applicants to have their carbon sequestration projects listed on the registry, with the office ensuring that these projects meet certain minimum criteria, as specified. The bill would require the office to establish a mechanism for removing these projects from the registry once funded and for tracking the outcomes of those projects, as specified. The bill would require project proponents to notify the office when a project is completed and provide monitoring and reporting data at least annually for the duration of the contract terms of the project. The bill would require the office to track carbon sequestration benefits of projects and report those benefits to the board for inclusion, as appropriate, in calculations pertaining to the state's greenhouse gas emissions goals.