Signed by Governor Jerry Brown, Jr.

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with House amendments and pass a bill that reduces greenhouse gas emission levels and expands woody biomass markets.

Highlights:

• Requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to create a Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming and advise on a Healthy Soils Program to do the following (Sec. 3):

• Review the impact that agriculture has on the environment and recommend the best available science and practices on the matter;

• Compile the environmental impacts of agriculture;

• Research and comment on data upon which proposed environmental policies are based; and

• Assist with incorporating policies and practices into environmental regulatory programs.

• Requires the Healthy Soils Program to provide loans, grants, research, technical assistance, and educational materials to farmers to contribute to healthy soils and advise on scientific findings and programs (Sec. 4).

• Allocates money to Native American tribes, businesses, public agencies, and other groups in California for projects if they further the regulatory purposes of the law (Sec. 7 & 10).

• Authorizes the secretary of the National Resources Agency to allocate money to underserved communities for projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and do another environmental benefit (Sec. 5).

• Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to give a minimum of 75% of it’s money to projects in disadvantaged communities (Sec. 5).

• Requires the State Air Resources Board to offer rebates to people who purchase an eligible vehicle and have a specified maximum gross annual income; increase rebate payments by $500 for low-income applicants, as defined; and prioritize rebate payments for low-income applicants (Sec. 8).

• Requires locally owned electric utilities serving more than 100,000 customers to obtain their proportionate shares of 125 megawatts of cumulative rated capacity from those kinds of bioenergy projects subject to terms of at least 5 years. Because this bill would impose additional duties on a local publicly owned electric utility, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program (Sec. 14).

• Establishes the CalRecycle Greenhouse Gas Reduction Revolving Loan Program (Sec. 12).

• Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to create a group to expand markets that can utilize woody biomass (Sec. 9).

• Appropriates $1.4 million to provide grants for the development of planning, environmental, and design documents in furtherance of projects for eliminating public health and safety risks from wastewater, and agricultural and other drainage of urbanized areas for tributaries to the Salton Sea (Sec. 16).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that reduces greenhouse gas emission levels and expands woody biomass markets.

Highlights:

• Requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to create a Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming and advise on a Healthy Soils Program to do the following (Sec. 3):

• Review the impact that agriculture has on the environment and recommend the best available science and practices on the matter;

• Compile the environmental impacts of agriculture;

• Research and comment on data upon which proposed environmental policies are based; and

• Assist with incorporating policies and practices into environmental regulatory programs.

• Requires the Healthy Soils Program to provide loans, grants, research, technical assistance, and educational materials to farmers to contribute to healthy soils and advise on scientific findings and programs (Sec. 4).

• Allocates money to Native American tribes, businesses, public agencies, and other groups in California for projects if they further the regulatory purposes of the law (Sec. 7 & 10).

• Authorizes the secretary of the National Resources Agency to allocate money to underserved communities for projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and do another environmental benefit (Sec. 5).

• Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to give a minimum of 75% of it’s money to projects in disadvantaged communities (Sec. 5).

• Requires the State Air Resources Board to offer rebates to people who purchase an eligible vehicle and have a specified maximum gross annual income; increase rebate payments by $500 for low-income applicants, as defined; and prioritize rebate payments for low-income applicants (Sec. 8).

• Requires locally owned electric utilities serving more than 100,000 customers to obtain their proportionate shares of 125 megawatts of cumulative rated capacity from those kinds of bioenergy projects subject to terms of at least 5 years. Because this bill would impose additional duties on a local publicly owned electric utility, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program (Sec. 14).

• Establishes the CalRecycle Greenhouse Gas Reduction Revolving Loan Program (Sec. 12).

• Requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to create a group to expand markets that can utilize woody biomass (Sec. 9).

• Appropriates $1.4 million to provide grants for the development of planning, environmental, and design documents in furtherance of projects for eliminating public health and safety risks from wastewater, and agricultural and other drainage of urbanized areas for tributaries to the Salton Sea (Sec. 16).

Full Bill Text