SB 400: California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

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 state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020. 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 makes a specified continuous appropriation to the High-Speed Rail Authority from the fund.

This bill would require the High-Speed Rail Authority to allocate not less than 25% of the moneys continuously appropriated to the authority from the fund to environmental mitigation measures and projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources projects that either reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions directly associated with the construction of the high-speed rail project and provide a cobenefit of improving air quality. The bill would require priority to be given within this expenditure category to measures and projects that are located in communities in areas designated as extreme nonattainment. The bill would expand the purposes of a continuous appropriation, thereby making an appropriation.