Climate Change, Green Energy, Land Preservation, Fisheries Management and Water Conservation Bills Authored by Laird Pass Assembly Committees

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) today announced the following nine environment-focused bills passed out of various Assembly committees yesterday and today:

AB 2175, Water Conservation:  Climate change, growing population, local and regional water shortages, and the need to protect California’s fish and wildlife make it imperative that the State manage its water resources as efficiently as possible.  AB 2175 would set a statewide water conservation target of 3 million acre-feet (1 acre-foot = 325,850 gallons) by 2030, and require urban and agricultural water districts to identify and implement locally cost-effective water conservation measures.  Approved by the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2270(Laird-Feuer), Water Recycling:  Water recycling is a key component of water management and water supply reliability in California. Existing law establishes a statewide recycling goal of 700,000 acre-feet of water by 2000 and 1,000,000 acre-feet of water by 2010. California is 20 years behind in reaching its recycling goals.  AB 2270 would promote recycled water use by setting and tracking progress of recycled water targets, and removing barriers and providing incentives for recycled water use.  Approved by the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2432, Climate Change Planning:  In order to prepare for climate change impacts on the environment, state resource agencies must have better information about the risks to vulnerable systems. AB 2432 would require the CA Public Interest Energy Research Program to work with the CA Resources Agency and other state land use and resource protection agencies, and to provide the best available climate change information to assist in planning and adaptation on the California coast.  Approved by the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2455, State Resource Land Acquisitions:  The California Performance Review and the Legislative Analyst’s Office reviewed the state agency acquisition and appraisal process for natural resource lands and raised concerns regarding inefficient administrative procedures and unnecessary delays.  AB 2455 sets appraisal standards for acquisition of state conservation lands in order to ensure better use of state bond dollars to achieve public benefits, as well as encourage public confidence in the process.  Approved by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2532, Marine Life Management Act/Interim Actions: California’s current “race for fish” (in which fishers catch as much fish as possible, as fast as possible) results in an unprofitable and depleted fishery—which hurts both the fishers and the fishery.  Existing law requires the development of Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) to promote sustainable fisheries.  AB 2532 would authorize actions by the Department of Fish and Game to enable the department to move forward with sustainable fishery management by increasing assistance and participation by fishery groups and authorizing interim action plans.  Approved by the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2678 (Núñez-Laird), Time-of-Sale Energy Audits:  This bill would require the California Energy Commission, by July 2010, to develop requirements for energy audits of residential and commercial buildings at the time of sale.  In setting such requirements, the Commission would be required to consider the ability to require mandatory energy efficiency efforts, the cost of establishing these requirements, the availability of financing for energy efficiency improvements, and the expected value of such requirements.  Approved by the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2921, Williamson Act Improvements:  This bill would revise provisions of the Williamson Act, which allows a landowner to pay lower property taxes in exchange for retaining the land in agriculture use or as open space.  The bill would (1) specify that the State can collect a portion of certain payments to terminate a contract, (2) allow landowners transferring their contracts to new lands to include protections for habitat or waterways on the new lands, and (3) clarifies that it is the issuance of a “building” permit that is used to determine whether a contract is in material breach, rather than other permits.  Approved by the Natural Resources Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2945, Wilderness Land Designations:  This bill would allow state agencies that own designated state wilderness lands to use the same “minimal approach” to management as the federal government has in its very successful federal wilderness program.  Approved by the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2990/Underground Petroleum Storage Tanks:  This bill will be amended to provide state grants to owners of single-walled underground petroleum tanks as a means to encourage the replacement of these tanks with modern double-walled tanks, in order to minimize leakage of petroleum products to groundwater.  Approved by the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Approved last week:

AB 2466 (Laird-Huffman), Renewable Energy/Aggregate Net Metering:  This bill allows local government entities to credit energy produced from renewable sources owned by the local entity against their electricity usage on more than just the facility where the renewable generator is located.  This will allow local governments to maximize their renewable energy potential.  Previously approved by the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.  The bill next goes before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. 

For more information on these bills, visit www.leginfo.ca.gov.