Greenhouse gases: carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration.

Existing law, known as the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act 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. Existing law requires the state board, at least once a year at a hearing of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies, to present an informational report on the reported emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants, and toxic air contaminants from all sectors covered by the scoping plan, as provided. The California Public Records Act requires a public agency, defined to mean a state or local agency, to make its public records available for public inspection, unless the public records are exempt from disclosure. Existing law specifies that trade secrets are not public records. This bill would require the state board, beginning January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, to include in the annual report to the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies, an evaluation, as specified, of how carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technologies are contributing to the state's efforts to achieve the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and a specified executive order. The bill would explicitly specify that data submitted by entities to the state board for purposes of the evaluation may be designated as confidential, as specified.