BILL NUMBER: AB 1447ENROLLED BILL TEXT PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 19, 2014 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 12, 2014 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2014 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 18, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Waldron and V. Manuel Prez (Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Chvez, Maienschein, and Wilk) (Coauthor: Senator Vidak) JANUARY 6, 2014 An act to add Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 2581) to Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to greenhouse gases. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1447, Waldron. California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: traffic synchronization. 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. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing law requires the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan for the moneys deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. This bill would authorize moneys in the fund to be allocated, as specified, for an investment in a traffic signal synchronization component that is part of a sustainable infrastructure project if the component is designed and implemented to achieve cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and includes specific emissions reduction targets and metrics to evaluate the project's effect. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Traffic signal synchronization is a low-cost operational approach that reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while alleviating congestion. (b) Studies show that investment in traffic signal timing programs enjoy cost-benefit ratios at more than 40 to 1, meaning the benefits from these programs save more than $40 for every dollar spent. (c) Due to their ability to maximize benefits for the least cost, traffic signal synchronization programs should be explicitly eligible for funding dedicated to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. SEC. 2. Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 2581) is added to Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code, to read: CHAPTER 16. TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYNCHRONIZATION 2581. (a) Investments in traffic signal synchronization may be eligible for an allocation of moneys pursuant to Section 39712 of the Health and Safety Code as a component of an eligible sustainable infrastructure project if both of the following conditions are met: (1) The sponsoring agency's legislative or governing body makes a finding that the traffic signal synchronization component is designed and implemented to achieve cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. (2) The traffic signal synchronization component includes specific emissions-reduction targets and metrics to evaluate the traffic signal synchronization component's effect. (b) A traffic signal synchronization component of a sustainable infrastructure project receiving an allocation of moneys pursuant to subdivision (a) shall meet the requirements of Section 16428.9 of the Government Code and Section 39712 of the Health and Safety Code.