California Assembly Bill AB2146 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2146AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Patterson (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow, Brough,  and Olsen   Chvez,   Jones,   Olsen,   and Steinorth  ) FEBRUARY 17, 2016 An act  to amend Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code, and  to add Section 4599 to the Public Resources Code, relating to forestry and fire protection. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2146, as amended, Patterson. Forestry and fire protection: greenhouse gas emissions. Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention to implement various fire prevention programs intended to protect forest resources and prevent uncontrollable wildfires. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires that all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources 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 by the Legislature, for greenhouse gas emissions reduction activities. This bill would  provide that   continuously appropriate  $200,000,000 from the  annual proceeds of the  fund  shall be made available annually, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act,  to the department for activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state caused by uncontrolled forest fires.  The bill would authorize the department to use these funds to provide payments to local governmental entities that carry out fire prevention activities and incentives for actions by private parties to reduce the risk or intensity of wildfires or improve the resiliency of lands prone to wildfires.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) California continues to experience catastrophic wildfires of a magnitude previously unknown. Unlike traditional regenerative forest fires, modern forest fires are extremely destructive with devastating economic and environmental consequences, including loss of life and property destruction, job losses, erosion, downstream drinking water quality degradation, proliferation of nonnative and invasive species, nonnative species choking out reemerging native vegetation, soil sterilization, ecosystem destruction, and tremendous amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. (b) While the state focuses its climate change efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources, it is turning a blind eye to the equally significant greenhouse gas and short-lived climate pollutant emissions resulting from forest fires. (c) The 2015 calendar year brought disastrous fires of high intensity, including the Rough Fire, which burned over 150,000 acres over a two-months period, injuring 12 people; the 2015 Valley Fire, which caused four civilian casualties, four injured firefighters, over 1,000 destroyed homes, 27 destroyed multifamily structures, and over 600 other structures destroyed, prompting the declaration of a major disaster from the President of the United States; and the Butte Fire that continued for over a month, resulting in two deaths and destroying 475 homes and over 350 other structures. (d) The 2013 Rim Fire burned over 250,000 acres over 69 days and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental damage; destroyed significant habitat for a number of California's rarest species; and demanded more than $125 million in firefighting resources. It is estimated that the Rim Fire released over 11 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 2.3 million cars. Experts have attributed the fire's exponential growth to a century's worth of fuel left behind due to historical fire suppression policies and practices. (e) The 2007 Angora Fire resulted in roughly 143,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, or approximately 46.2 tons per acre. Studies indicate that those emissions could have been lowered to 12 tons per acre if the tree density were reduced from approximately 273 trees per acre to the natural 60 trees per acre level.  SEC. 2.   Section 39719 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  39719. (a) The Legislature shall appropriate the annual proceeds of the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in this state in accordance with the requirements of Section 39712. (b) To carry out a portion of the requirements of subdivision (a), annual proceeds are continuously appropriated for the following: (1) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, 35 percent of annual proceeds are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, for transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities programs as  following:   follows:  (A) Ten percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency for the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2 (commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. (B) Five percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program created by Part 3 (commencing with Section 75230) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. Funds shall be allocated by the Controller, according to requirements of the program, and pursuant to the distribution formula in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 99312 of, and Sections 99313 and 99314 of, the Public Utilities Code. (C) Twenty percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the Strategic Growth Council for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program created by Part 1 (commencing with Section 75200) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. Of the amount appropriated in this subparagraph, no less than 10 percent of the annual proceeds, shall be expended for affordable housing, consistent with the provisions of that program. (2) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, 25 percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the High-Speed Rail Authority for the following components of the initial operating segment and Phase I Blended System as described in the 2012 business plan adopted pursuant to Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code: (A) Acquisition and construction costs of the project. (B) Environmental review and design costs of the project. (C) Other capital costs of the project. (D) Repayment of any loans made to the authority to fund the project.  (c) Beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, and notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for activities as described in Section 4599 of the Public Resources Code.   (c)   (d)  In determining the amount of annual proceeds of the fund for purposes of the calculation in subdivision (b), the funds subject to Section 39719.1 shall not be included.  SEC. 2.   SEC. 3.  Section 4599 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: 4599.  (a)    The  sum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, created pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code, shall be made available annually to the department, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act, for   department shall use moneys appropriated pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code to fund  activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state caused by uncontrolled forest fires, including, but not limited to, vegetation management, forest overgrowth reduction, and measures to ensure that future fires are more consistent with the historic regenerative fire regime.  (b) The department may, and is encouraged to, use funds appropriated pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code to provide both of the following:   (A) Payments to local governmental entities that carry out fire prevention activities.   (B) Incentives for actions by private parties to reduce the risk or intensity of wildfires or improve the resiliency of lands prone to wildfires.