update
California Legislative Update 

2007
2006
2005

2007
Overview
Victories
Bills that Will Be Voted on in 2008

Overview
Thanks to the thousands of emails and phone calls from UCS activists along with intensive work by UCS experts and a broad coalition of environmental and health advocates, the California legislature passed several important environmental bills during the 2007 legislative session. 

VICTORIES: 
SB 719-Strengthen The Air Pollution Control Board in the San Joaquin Valley
After five years of hard work in support of a bill to reform the infamous San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District Board, SB 719 finally passed! SB 719, authored by Senator Mike Machado, will give more valley cities a voice on the board and strengthen the board’s scientific capacity by adding health experts. This bill is seen as a critical step forward in cleaning up valley air—which is the worst in the United States.

This bill was signed by the governor.

SB 210-The Low Carbon Fuel Standard
UCS activists, experts, and others worked hard to help pass the Low Carbon Fuel Standard bill (SB 210), authored by State Senator Christine Kehoe.

This bill will lower global warming emissions from the fuel our cars and trucks use by requiring oil companies to reduce the carbon and other global warming pollution in transportation fuels by at least 10 percent by 2020. This bill protects the state from high carbon fuels like liquid coal, builds a market for lower carbon alternatives, and fosters investment in very low carbon fuels, which could include cellulosic ethanol, hydrogen, or electricity. SB 210 also requires that alternative fuels be produced in a manner that protects air quality and ensures long-term environmental sustainability.

The bill was vetoed by the governor and will be introduced again in 2008.

Fact Sheet on SB 210 (PDF)

Bills that Will Be Voted on in 2008

Fact Sheet on AB 493 (PDF)

SB 411--33 Percent Renewable Electricity Standard
Senate Bill 411 would expand California’s existing Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), which currently requires regulated electric utilities and competitive suppliers to increase their use of wind, solar, and other renewable electricity sources by at least one percent per year of retail electricity sales, reaching at least 20 percent by 2010. Municipally owned utilities are bound by a similar, though less stringent, requirement.

SB 411 requires that 33 percent of retail electricity sales come from renewable sources by 2020, while retaining the existing ratepayer protections of the current RES.

Passing SB 411 will:
• Result in 11 million metric tons of global warming emissions reductions in 2020 – equivalent to removing two million cars from the road;
• Send a clear market signal that will continue to encourage investment and research in clean technology in California;
• Promote long-term planning in the electricity infrastructure needed to support high levels of renewable energy development; and
• Diversify the state’s energy supply and help protect consumers from natural gas price peaks.

Currently, about 22 percent of California’s global warming emissions come from electricity used throughout the state. Increasing the amount of electricity from clean, renewable sources would help address global warming by reducing these heat-trapping emissions. Moreover, a strong RES will improve the air we breathe by shifting away from an over-reliance on fossil fuels toward cleaner sources that emit fewer smog-forming pollutants.

SB 411 would further expand California’s renewable energy market, which is already the largest state market in the country. By 2020, UCS projects that a 33 percent California RES will result in over 13,000 megawatts of new renewable power—enough to meet the needs of more than 8 million typical homes.

Fact Sheet on SB 411 (PDF)

SB 974--Clean Ports Air Quality Bill
The ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland are the nation’s first, second, and fourth largest ports, accounting for almost half of the nation’s seaborne cargo. It is estimated that the volume of goods moving through these ports will triple by 2020. These goods are transported from the ports primarily by diesel fueled trucks, ships, and trains.
The goods movement transportation system (highways and rail) is overwhelmed and this movement of goods heavily pollutes the surrounding communities and the transportation corridors used by high-pollution diesel trucks.
SB 974 provides a funding mechanism to allow the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland to remain the leading economic engine in the state of California. Without these transportation and air quality improvements, the ports will struggle with growth resulting in cargo being diverted to other ports and countries.

SB 974 would:
• Levy a $30 per container user fee on each shipping container (twenty-foot equivalent) processed through the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland.
• Allocate half of the fee to the California Transportation Commission for projects that improve the overall efficiency of container cargo movement to and from the ports by improving the rail system and container transportation systems that transport container cargo from and to these ports and by improving on-dock rail facilities at these ports.
• Allocate half of the fee to the State Air Resources Board for projects that reduce air pollution caused by the movement of container cargo to and from these ports. The projects would be designed to reduce air pollution to reach federal air quality attainment standards and to meet the goals of the Air Board’s Emission Reduction Plan.
• Prohibit any monies from this user fee from being transferred to the state General Fund.
• Authorize the California Infrastructure Bank to issue revenue bonds for the infrastructure and air quality projects to be paid for by the revenue from the container user fee levied at these ports.

2006
Thanks to an intensive campaign by Union of Concerned Scientists activists and others, as well as efforts by more than 80 scientists who produced an important report detailing how global warming is expected to impact California, the California state legislature passed some of the strongest global warming bills in the country, including four of UCS's top priority global warming bills!  The summary below highlights some of our collective efforts and describes how each bill fared.

VICTORIES:
AB 32—California Global Warming Emissions Cap
By a vote of 47 to 32, the California legislature passed AB 32, the landmark global warming bill in the final hours of the 2006 legislative session. AB 32 could become a model for other states in the face of continued federal inaction. Governor Schwarzenegger has stated that he will sign the bill "immediately." 

UCS intends to invest considerable time and resources working with scientists, economists, state agency staff and officials, community members, and other key stakeholders to make sure that the implementation plans developed by the state over the next several years most effectively achieve the needed reductions. Stay tuned for more alerts on this issue!

Fact Sheet on AB 32 as passed (PDF)
 
SB 1368- Global Warming Emissions Standard for Electricity Generation
This very important bill, authored by Senate President Pro-Tempore Don Perata, requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to set a global warming emissions standard for electricity used in California--regardless of whether it's generated in-state or purchased from plants in other states. This new standard will apply to any new long-term financial contracts for baseload electricity. This law could help prevent dirty new coal plants from being built to serve California's growing electricity demand and will instead encourage development of clean electricity generation technologies including renewables.  SB 1368 awaits the Governor's signature.

SB 107--Accelerated Renewable Energy Standard
SB 107, sponsored by state senators Joe Simitian and Don Perata, moves up the timeline to reach the state's existing 20 percent renewable energy standard requirement by seven years, to 2010.  UCS has been one of the bill's main advocates over the last year and a half, and has crafted several amendments as the bill wound its way through the legislative process to the Governor's desk, where it now waits for his signature.

SB 1505 Green Standards for Hydrogen Fuel Production
SB 1505, a bill sponsored by UCS and authored by state Senator Alan Lowenthal, sets strong environmental performance standards for hydrogen as a transportation fuel.  This bill, if signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, will make sure that as hydrogen develops into a viable alternative transportation fuel, the expected environmental benefits are actually realized.

SB 1: Million Solar Roofs
SB 1, which was signed by the Governor in August of 2006, is the largest solar energy legislation ever introduced in the U.S.
The law is designed to result in 3,000 megawatts of distributed
solar power for California--enough to prevent  the release of 3
million metric tons of global warming emissions by 2020. The
program provides $3.2 billion in consumer rebates to homeowners and businesses over ten years, requires that solar
panels become a standard option for new homebuyers, and allows a greatly increased number of homeowners and businesses to receive a credit on their monthly electric bill for excess power generated by their solar system.
SB 1 expands the California Solar Initiative (CSI) program that was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in January 2006. The CSI requires the state's investor-owned utilities to provide financial incentives to customers installing solar systems. Since the CSI aims to achieve a self-sustaining solar energy market, the incentive levels will be reduced over time as more solar capacity is installed. With the passage of SB 1, municipal utilities are now also required to offer solar incentives to their customers.

2005
Overview
Bill That Passed
Bills That Almost Passed & May Be Implemented Through Other Means
Bills That Will Carry Over Into 2006 as 2-year Bills
Bills That Failed But Will Be Re-Introduced in 2006

Overview
In January, UCS began organizing support for several important bills that would help reduce California’s global warming emissions and clean up the air, especially in the heavily polluted Central Valley.

Thanks in part to your responses to action alerts and communication with your legislators, the bill creating global warming emissions labels for all new cars sold in California passed, was signed by the Governor, and is now law!

Many of bills UCS was campaigning for--such as the Million Solar Roofs bill (SB 1), the renewable electricity standards bill (SB 107), and the San Joaquin Valley air pollution district accountability bill (SB 999)--made it through the full Senate and several Assembly committees. On the last day of the legislative session these bills waited for one final vote on the Assembly floor. Shockingly, those votes never came to pass. Moreover, several other important bills--to clean up dirty diesel construction equipment, reduce the state’s use of petroleum, and provide for the direct sale of hybrid vehicles--were squelched early on in the session.

UCS will continue to work to stop the influence of polluting industries and increase support for critical clean air, energy and health policies over the coming year.

Bill That Passed

AB 1229: Global Warming Labels on New Cars
This new law revises the existing "smog index sticker" placed on all new cars sold in California to include information on the vehicle's global warming emissions. Since a whopping 40 percent of all global warming gases emitted in California come from cars and trucks, this bill provides information to consumers so we can consider environmental impacts in our car-buying decisions. By helping consumers make informed choices, this bill may ultimately spur automakers to produce cleaner cars to meet consumer demand.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed this bill into law on October 6, 2005.

Bills That Almost Passed & May Be Implemented Through Other Means

AB 493: California Clean Car Discount Bill
The California Clean Car Discount program provides one-time rebates and one-time surcharges on the purchase of new cars based on each vehicle’s emissions of global warming pollution. AB 493 will help California families purchase clean, affordable vehicles by providing incentives for low- polluting new vehicles. This program is designed to protect consumer choice by ensuring that consumers have the opportunity to buy a vehicle from among all vehicle types. This a self-financing program with all the surcharges going to fund the rebates and administrative costs associated with the program. AB 493 has been reintroduced in the 2007 legislative session. Find out more about the proposed California Clean Car Disocount program.

SB 107: 20 Percent Renewable Energy by 2010
SB 107 would have required that 20 percent of our state’s electricity come from clean, renewable sources like wind and solar by 2010--seven years earlier than current law requires. This new standard would have spurred the provision of clean power to 17 million homes, reducing global warming pollution by the same amount as if we took 2.8 million cars off the road. Although the bill did not make it out of the legislature this year, it will likely come back in 2006. UCS intends to take a significant role in pursing this legislation while continuing to work with the CPUC to implement the essence of the legislation based on the goals of the State’s official Energy Action Plan.
Fact Sheet: SB 107--Increasing Renewable Energy (PDF)

Bills That Will Carry Over Into 2006 as 2-year Bills

SB 999: More Accountable Air Pollution Control Board for the San Joaquin Valley
The notoriously polluter-friendly San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) is in great need of public accountability and revitalization. SB 999 sought to create that accountability by adding more representatives to the district board from the urban centers most impacted by air pollution in the Valley, as well as representatives with expertise in public health and air pollution science.

Currently, one in three families in the Valley has a member with a respiratory ailment, one out of six of the region’s children and one in eight adults suffers from asthma, and more than 1,200 premature deaths occur each year due to particulate matter pollution.

SB 999 passed through the Senate and all policy committees in both houses. Unfortunately, some Assembly members in the Valley were not supportive, so the bill was left hanging until next year. The good news is that because SB 999 was transformed into a two-year bill, next January it will not have to go through the entire process all over. UCS will continue to work closely with the Central Valley Air Quality coalition to develop a strong, effective policy to help clean the air in this region. 
Fact Sheet: SB 999--Publicly Accountable San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (PDF)

AB 1223: Direct Sale of Hybrid Vehicles
This bill removes requirements that hybrid and low emission vehicles be sold by a dealer. This would allow for direct sale of these vehicles over the Internet and estimated savings of 10-15% to the consumer ($2400-$3600 according to the Consumer Federation of America). Allowing direct sales of low emission vehicles would lower the price of hybrid vehicles and create an incentive for manufacturers to produce them, consumers to buy them, and will improve California air quality.
Fact Sheet: Direct Sale of Hybrid Vehicles (PDF)

SB 757: Petroleum Reduction
California is the second largest consumer of gasoline in the world, after the United States as a whole.  The state consumes over one-tenth of the nation’s gasoline, and demand is fast outstripping supply. SB 757 promotes long term energy security by establishing a statewide petroleum demand reduction goal and providing state agencies the authority to adopt regulations requiring the purchase of cost-effective alternative fuels and technologies.
Fact Sheet: SB 757: Petroleum Reduction

Bills That Failed But Will Be Re-Introduced in 2006

SB 497: Clean Construction Equipment Bill
Construction is California’s single largest source of diesel soot pollution. Since construction equipment has a long life, the benefits of federal standards that require new engines that pollute less won’t be felt for decades. SB 497 speeds up the pace at which cleaner equipment is employed at state-funded construction sites.
Clean Construction for California