Existing law establishes the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation in state government in the Governor's office to serve the Governor and Governor's Cabinet as staff for long-range planning and research, and constitute the comprehensive state planning agency. Existing law provides state goals for the installation of solar energy systems through, among other programs, the California Solar Initiative. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Office of Land Use and Climate Change to complete a study on the impacts of large-scale solar on the land use planning, environment, and economy of the Central Valley region. The bill would require the Office of Land Use and Climate Change, in conducting the study, to consult interested parties, as specified. The bill would require the study to include an analysis of the impacts of large-scale solar on regional land use planning, the regional environment, and the regional economy. The bill would require the study to include recommendations on how to mitigate impacts of large-scale solar through changes to existing or the adoption of new state, regional, and local policy, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Central Valley region.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires each electrical corporation, not later than February 28, 2021, to file an advice letter for, and requires the commission, not later than June 30, 2021, to approve, a new tariff or rule that authorizes each electrical corporation to design and deploy all electrical distribution infrastructure on the utility side of the customer's meter for all customers installing separately metered infrastructure to support charging stations, other than those in single-family residences. Existing law requires the commission to establish strategies and quantifiable metrics to maximize the use of feasible and cost-effective electric vehicle grid integration, as defined, by January 1, 2030, as specified. This bill would require the commission, on or before March 1, 2027, to establish targets for each electrical corporation to install electric vehicle charging stations at multifamily housing properties. The bill would require the commission to ensure the targets reduce costs for all ratepayers, and to require electrical corporations to make annual progress reports and to provide to the commission corresponding maps that identify the proposed multifamily housing properties within its service territory where use will be highest based on distribution system planning and experience with electric vehicle charging station infrastructure. The bill would require the commission, in establishing the targets, to determine whether to impose certain requirements on an electrical corporation, including a requirement that an electrical corporation recover all costs, to the extent not covered by nonratepayer funding, for deploying the electric vehicle charging stations, including the costs for administration and implementation, as operations and maintenance costs rather than as capital costs. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of the bill would be a part of the act and therefore a violation of the bill's requirements, or a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements, would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state. Existing law requires moneys collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of certain allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and continuously appropriates a portion of the moneys in the fund for various purposes, including a specified portion to the authority for certain purposes. Existing law prohibits the authority from entering into new funding commitments with those moneys for activities outside of the Merced to Bakersfield segment, until June 30, 2030, or when that segment is fully funded, whichever is sooner. Notwithstanding that prohibition, existing law authorizes the authority to enter into new funding commitments outside of the Merced to Bakersfield segment for certain purposes, including for additional activities, not to cumulatively exceed $500,000,000, that maximize the efficiency of delivering the project, as specified. This bill would revise and recast that authorization to instead authorize the authority to enter into new funding commitments with the above-described moneys outside of the Merced to Bakersfield segment in any amount for activities related to early works, as defined, and for projects developed through public partnership agreements or public-private partnership agreements, subject to the requirements that those funding commitments maximize the efficiency of delivering the project and do not delay the completion of the Merced to Bakersfield segment, as specified. By expanding the purposes for which continuously appropriated moneys may be used, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law vests the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission with various responsibilities for developing and implementing the state's energy policies. This bill would require the commission to adopt regulations, no later than July 1, 2027, to protect consumers from inaccurate electric vehicle supply equipment, as provided. Existing law governs weights and measures in this state, and authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and each sealer acting under the supervision and direction of the secretary to enforce those provisions, as specified. Existing law requires the secretary to provide by rules and regulations for the submission for approval of types or designs of weights, measures, or weighing, measuring, or counting instruments or devices, used for commercial purposes, and to issue certificates of approval of those types or designs as the secretary finds meet the requirements of state law, as specified. This bill would, beginning on the date that the commission adopts the above-described regulations, provide that the provisions described above do not apply to the types or designs of weights, measures, or weighing, measuring, or counting instruments or devices, associated with electric vehicle supply equipment, as defined. Existing law governing weights and measures provides that there is in each county the office of county sealer of weights and measures to administer those provisions in the county. This bill would specifically authorize a county sealer to test and certify the accuracy of electric vehicle supply equipment and would require any inspection and enforcement conducted by a county sealer for electric vehicle supply equipment to comply with requirements adopted by the commission pursuant to above-described regulations. The bill would make these provisions operative on the date that the commission adopts the above-described regulations. Existing law authorizes a county sealer to test and verify as correct any electric vehicle charger, as defined, operated by a public agency that is located in the county in which the sealer has jurisdiction, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2028, provides that electric vehicle supply equipment that has previously been placed in service by a service agency or sealer is not required to be retested or placed in service in certain situations, as provided. This bill would make any regulations adopted by the secretary for purposes of the former provision inoperative on the date that the commission adopts the above-described regulations. This bill would make the latter provision inoperative on January 1, 2028, or on the date that the commission adopts the above-described regulations, whichever is sooner, and would repeal that provision on January 1 of the following year.
Existing law vests the State Oil and Gas Supervisor with regulatory authority over wells for the discovery of geothermal resources or wells on land producing geothermal resources. Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field, so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources. Under existing law, a person who fails to comply with requirements relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law imposes, among other things, an annual charge upon each person operating or owning an interest in an oil or gas well, with respect to the production of the well, which charge is payable to the Treasurer for deposit into the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund. Existing law requires funds from those charges to be used exclusively for the support and maintenance of the Department of Conservation, which is charged with the supervision of oil and gas operations, for the State Water Resources Control Board and the regional water quality control boards for their activities related to oil and gas operations that may affect water resources, and for the support of the State Air Resources Board and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment for their activities related to oil and gas operations that may affect air quality, public health, or public safety. Existing law imposes annual limits on expenditures by the division from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund, as provided. This bill would establish the New Technology Program within the division to facilitate the evaluation of repurposing oil and gas wells or geothermal wells for renewable energy storage or generation purposes. The bill would require the supervisor to approve or deny project proposals from operators to repurpose oil and gas wells or geothermal wells for energy storage or renewable energy generation, including synthetic geothermal resources, as provided. The bill would require, upon approval of a project by the supervisor, the oil and gas wells or geothermal wells that are part of the project to be designated as experimental wells, as defined, for the duration of the project. The bill would impose an annual charge on operators of experimental wells to defray the regulatory costs incurred by the state, as provided. The bill would require the proceeds of the annual charge to be deposited into the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund. The bill would require the division to, on or before an unspecified date, and annually thereafter, provide a report to the applicable legislative policy and budget committees on program activities for the preceding calendar year, highlighting accomplishments and including recommendations for statutory and regulatory changes to more readily achieve program goals.
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 in regulating those emissions. The implementing regulations adopted by the state board provide for the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electrical corporations and gas corporations pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism. Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations. Existing law requires the commission to consider options to promote the in-state production and distribution of biomethane, and that facilitate the development of a variety of sources of in-state biomethane. The commission has adopted 2 decisions implementing these requirements, the 2nd of which adopted a 5-year monetary incentive program effective June 11, 2015, for biomethane projects. Existing law requires the commission to modify the biomethane monetary incentive program in specified respects and to extend the program, as modified, until December 31, 2026, or until all available program funds are expended, whichever occurs first. This bill would require the commission to extend the biomethane monetary incentive program until December 31, 2030. The bill would authorize the commission to authorize additional funding of $50,000,000 for the program, of which no more than $10,000,000 would be authorized for dairy biomethane projects, using the revenues, including any accrued interest, received by a gas corporation as a result of the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances provided to gas corporations as part of the above-described market-based compliance mechanism. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be part of the act and because a violation of a commission action implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The act requires all state agencies to consider and implement strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This bill would additionally require state agencies to prioritize strategies to reduce methane emissions, including emissions from imported petroleum and natural gas, where feasible and cost effective. The bill would require the state board to encourage natural gas procurement on behalf of the state to shift to certified natural gas producing low methane emissions. The bill would also authorize the state board, the Public Utilities Commission, and other relevant agencies to apply approved protocols that measure, monitor, report, and verify methane emissions to existing programs to reduce methane emissions, including emissions from imported petroleum and natural gas procured by utilities and other large gas users, as provided. The bill would also authorize the state board, the Public Utilities Commission, and other relevant agencies to use all relevant sources and standards, including, but not limited to, emissions data, models, or protocols from existing or new regulations.
Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2026, provide an exemption from the taxes imposed by the Sales and Use Tax Law for the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, hydrogen fuel, as defined. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would also include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases and requires the state board 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, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to develop a standardized system for quantifying the direct carbon emissions and decay from fuel reduction activities for purposes of meeting the accounting requirements for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund expenditures, as specified. This bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2028, to publish on its internet website an assessment of the life-cycle emissions from alternative uses of forest and agricultural biomass residues, as specified. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2029, to publish on its internet website a strategy to support beneficial carbon removal products, including, but not limited to, biochar, that are generated from agricultural or forest biomass resources. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to require, to the extent feasible, all state-funded forest health projects to include an appropriate forest biomass resource disposal component that includes a scientifically based, verifiable method to determine the amount of biomass to be physically removed and the amount to be burned by prescribed burn. The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to include the value proposition of using agricultural and forest biomass resources for low- and negative-carbon liquid and gaseous fuels, including hydrogen, from noncombustion conversion technology methods and other emerging and innovative approaches in relevant reports and other agency-sponsored documentation.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt rules and regulations that will achieve ambient air quality standards required by the federal Clean Air Act, as specified. Existing law requires the state board, following a noticed public hearing, to adopt airborne toxic control measures to reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants from nonvehicular sources. Pursuant to this authority, the state board has adopted the Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Fuel Sulfur and Other Operational Requirements for Ocean-Going Vessels within California Waters and 24 Nautical Miles of the California Baseline regulation to require the use of low-sulfur marine distillate fuels in order to reduce emissions of particulate matter, diesel particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides from the use of auxiliary diesel and diesel-electric engines, main propulsion diesel engines, and auxiliary boilers on oceangoing vessels. This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in coordination with the State Lands Commission, the Transportation Agency, and the state board, to develop a plan on or before December 31, 2030, for the alternative fuel needs of oceangoing vessels that call at California's public seaports and that enables the seaports to meet their emission reduction goals. The bill would require that the plan do specified things, including, among other things, identify barriers to permitting alternative fuel facilities at seaports and opportunities to address those barriers. The bill would require the Energy Commission to convene a working group to advise the Energy Commission on the development of the information required to be included in the plan, as specified. The bill would require the state board to provide the Energy Commission with information regarding fuels for oceangoing vessels that comply with the state board's regulations for those vessels.
