CAPITOL UPDATE #36 September 22, 2022

The Governor signed multiple “climate bills” this week that over the long run will have a major impact on how we live in California. It is interesting because many of the new rules are part of budget trailer bills which are only supposed to deal with funding, however, the spending packages are policy driven without having gone through the legislative process.

Here are a couple of climate bills that did get signed and are not a part of the budget trailer bills. Here are a couple of bills to research for further information – AB 170 Budget Act of 2022 and AB 209 Energy and Climate Change.

SB 905 –Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program – This bill would require the State Resources Board to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and viability of carbon capture, utilization or storage technologies and carbon dioxide removal technologies and facilitate the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide from those technologies, where appropriate.

This bill would require the state board, in consultation with relevant state and local agencies by 1/1/25 to adopt regulations for a unified permit application for the construction and operation of carbon dioxide capture, removal or sequestration projects to expedite the issuance of permits or other authorization for the construction and operation of those projects.

This bill would require relevant state agencies to use the unified permit application when issuing permits or other authorizations for a carbon dioxide capture removal or sequestration project. This bill has many more provisions that will make it exceedingly difficult for permits to be issued because of the multiple agencies that need to sign off and agree to conditions of approval.

AB 1279 – The California Climate Crisis Act – This bill, would declare the policy of the state both to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, and achieve and maintain net reduced to at least 8% below the 1990 levels.

This bill would require the State Air Resources Board to work with relevant state agencies to ensure that updates to the scoping plan identify and recommend measures to achieve these policy goals and to identify and implement a variety of policies and strategies that enable carbon dioxide removal solutions and carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies in California.

* The bill would require the state board to submit an annual report to the Legislature.

(If anyone wants to understand why appliances made for California cost more or fail faster, this bill says it all!)

* Separate design for California!

SB 1063, Energy: appliance standards and cost-effective measures. Existing Law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prescribe, by regulation, standards for minimum levels of operating efficiency, and authorizes the commission to prescribe other cost-effective measures, to promote the use of energy- and water-efficient appliances whose use requires a significant amount of energy or water; requires that those standards become effective no sooner than one year after their date of adoption or revision and requires that they not result manufactured in any added total costs for consumers over the designed life of the impacted appliances and prohibits the sale, and the offering for sale, of a new appliance unless its manufacturer certifies that it complies with the standards in effect at the time the appliance is manufactured.

This bill would require that those other cost-effective measures prescribed by the commission also not result in any added total costs for consumers over the designed life of the impacted appliances; would prohibit the sale, and the offering for sale, of a new appliance unless its manufacturer certifies that it complies with those other cost-effective measures, in addition to the standards, in effect at the time the appliance is manufactured and would define “sold or offered for sale in the state” as a sale of or offer to sell an appliance for end use in the state, regardless of the seller’s physical location, including, without limitation, internet, telephone, and mail order transactions.

* Enrolled and presented to the Governor on 8/23/22.