Carbon Capture Technology Demonstration Project Grant Program.

(1) Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, consisting of 5 members appointed by the Governor. Existing law requires the commission, among other things, to carry out, or cause to be carried out under contract or other arrangements, research and development into alternative sources of energy, improvements in energy generation, transmission, and siting, fuel substitution, and other topics related to energy supply, demand, public safety, ecology, and conservation that are of particular statewide importance. This bill would require the commission, on or before September 30, 2024, and contingent upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature, to establish the Carbon Capture Technology Demonstration Project Grant Program, including program goals and objectives, to deploy and commercialize carbon capture technologies that will significantly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, emissions reductions, and environmental performance of existing industrial facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, and biomass electric generation facilities, as provided. The bill would require the commission to coordinate with specified government entities to establish goals and objectives for the program. This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2025, to provide grants to eligible entities, as defined, for 3 projects that each capture or utilize carbon dioxide from an existing industrial facility, natural gas electric generation facility, or biomass electric generation facility, as provided. The bill would require the commission to develop guidelines and criteria for eligible entities to apply for and receive grants, including, but not limited to, a competitive, merit-based application process that gives priority to eligible entities that are applying for specified federal funding and to projects that substantially improve the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, emissions reductions, and environmental performance of carbon capture or utilization technologies for power, industrial, and other commercial applications. This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to publish on its internet website specified information regarding the projects for which the commission awards program funds, including, but not limited to, a detailed update regarding the status of the construction, development, permitting, and operation of the project. This bill would require the commission to convene a task force, as provided, to provide technical and policy assistance to eligible entities to obtain permits and licenses necessary to deploy and commercialize carbon capture technologies consistent with the purpose, goals, and objectives of the program. This bill would require any state agency that establishes, on or after January 1, 2023, a grant program for carbon capture, utilization, or sequestration projects to maximize federal funding for purposes of establishing, implementing, and administering that grant program. The bill would require the commission to maximize federal funding for purposes of establishing, implementing, and administering the program. (2) Existing law defines "public works," for purposes of regulating public works contracts, as, among other things, construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for, in whole or in part, out of public funds. Existing law further requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages be paid to workers employed on public works and imposes misdemeanor penalties for a willful violation of this requirement. This bill would require that a project that receives grant funding pursuant to the program constitutes a public works project for which prevailing wages are required to be paid. Because the willful violation of prevailing wage requirements when engaged in these public works projects would result in the imposition of misdemeanor penalties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require, among other things, an eligible entity, as a condition of receiving a grant, to certify to the commission that a skilled and trained workforce, as defined, perform all work on the project that falls within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades. Because it would expand the scope of the crime of the penalty of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require an eligible entity, except as provided, to provide to the commission a monthly report demonstrating compliance with specified skilled and trained workforce requirements, and would subject an eligible entity that fails to provide the monthly report, or use a skilled and trained workforce as required, to specified civil penalties. 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.