Public resources: geothermal resources: lithium.

(1) The Salton Sea Restoration Act establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Fund, which is administered by the Director of Fish and Wildlife, and requires that the moneys in the fund be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for environmental and engineering studies related to the restoration of the Salton Sea and the protection of fish and wildlife dependent on the sea, conservation measures necessary to protect the fish and wildlife species dependent on the Salton Sea, and the preferred Salton Sea restoration alternative, including administrative, technical, and public outreach costs related to the development and selection of that alternative, as specified. The act prohibits the expenditure of moneys in the fund for mitigation except for mitigation undertaken by the State of California. This bill would create the Lithium Subaccount within the Salton Sea Restoration Fund, and would continuously appropriate moneys in the subaccount to the Natural Resources Agency for restoration projects and grants for community engagement, public amenity, capital improvement, or community-benefit projects at or around the Salton Sea and those communities impacted by the Salton Sea's restoration and development, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the agency to develop and adopt project solicitation and evaluation guidelines before allocating those moneys. The bill would require the agency, on or before June 30 of each fiscal year, to report on its internet website the projected operating and maintenance costs of state-developed or -managed public works or restoration projects at the Salton Sea for the following fiscal year that will be funded through the subaccount. (2) Existing law requires the owner or operator of a mining operation within the state, among other things, to annually report specified information to the Supervisor of Mine Reclamation. Existing law requires the State Mining and Geology Board to impose an annual reporting fee on each active or idle mining operation and to collect $5 per ounce of gold and $0.10 per ounce of silver mined within the state. This bill would specify, for purposes of the above requirements, that "mining operation" includes the extraction of minerals from geothermal brine, or any other brine, including, but not limited to, a mining operation colocated or co-operated with geothermal resource facilities. By expanding the operations subject to the tax on gold and silver mined in the state, the bill would impose a tax. (3) Existing law creates the Geothermal Resources Development Account, requires revenues received by the state pursuant to a specified federal law to be deposited into the account, and continuously appropriates moneys in the account for specified purposes. Upon the receipt and deposit of revenues into the account, existing law requires 40% of the revenues derived from the sale of certain leases, and 40% of the revenues consisting of royalties and rents, to be immediately disbursed by the Controller to the county in which the United States has leased those lands for geothermal development, as specified. Existing law requires 30% of the revenues in the account to be available for expenditure by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission as grants or loans to local jurisdictions or private entities, as specified. Existing law requires that the revenues disbursed to counties and grants or loans made to local jurisdictions or private entities be expended by the recipient for specified purposes related to geothermal resources. This bill would additionally authorize the expenditure of those revenues, grants, and loans for specified purposes related to the extraction of minerals from geothermal brines and related activities. By expanding the purposes of which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be expended, the bill would make an appropriation. (4) Existing law imposes taxes upon income and real property, and taxes upon certain transactions and excise taxes. The Fee Collection Procedures Law provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges and is administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Under existing law, a violation of the Fee Collection Procedures Law is a crime. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2023, require any person who extracts lithium from geothermal fluid, spodumene ore, rock, minerals, clay, or any other naturally occurring substance in this state to pay a lithium extraction excise tax upon each metric ton of extracted lithium carbonate equivalent, as specified. The bill would provide that the tax is in lieu of all county, municipal, or district taxes on lithium extraction or lithium storage, except as provided. The bill would require that the tax revenues, less refunds and reimbursement to the department for its costs associated with the administration and collection of the tax, be deposited into the Lithium Extraction Excise Tax Fund, a continuously appropriated fund established by the bill. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, and depositing moneys into the fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the Controller to distribute 80% of the moneys in the fund to counties in proportion to the amounts of the taxes, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected for lithium extraction within each county and to deposit 20% of the moneys in the fund into the Lithium Subaccount described above. By depositing moneys into the continuously appropriated subaccount, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would require the department to administer and collect the tax pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law. By expanding the application of the crimes associated with the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2023, to prepare a study of replacing a volume-based tax on the extraction of lithium with an equivalent tax based on gross receipts. (5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (6) This bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the General Fund for allocation to the County of Imperial for specified purposes related to geothermal energy development and lithium extraction. (7) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill. (8) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.