BILL NUMBER: SB 1675 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 26, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Senator Kehoe
FEBRUARY 24, 2006
An act to add Section 13452 13455 to
the Business and Professions Code, and to add Section 43836 to the
Health and Safety Code, relating to vehicular air pollution.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1675, as amended, Kehoe Vehicular air pollution: renewable
diesel fuel.
Existing law imposes various limitations on emissions of air
contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and
nonvehicular sources. Existing law generally designates the State Air
Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility
for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law permits,
until January 1, 2008, any federal, state, or local agency to utilize
a biodiesel blend fuel consisting of not more than 20% biodiesel in
any retrofitted vehicular or off-road diesel engine certified by the
state board, whether or not biodiesel is expressly identified as a
fuel for use with the retrofit system, as provided. Existing law
requires the state board to not adopt any regulation that establishes
a specification for motor vehicles vehicle
fuel unless that regulation, and a multimedia evaluation, as
defined, conducted by affected agencies and coordinated by the state
board, are reviewed by the California Environmental Policy Council.
Existing law generally provides that a violation of any rule,
regulation, or law relating to air pollution is a crime.
This bill would require, all diesel fuel sold or offered for sale
in the state for use in internal combustion engines to contain at
least 2% renewable diesel fuel, as defined, no later than 1 year
after a specified finding is made by the state board, and, no later
than 2 years after the implementation of the 2% standard, would
require all diesel fuel sold or offered for sale in the state for use
in internal combustion engines to contain at least 5% renewable
diesel fuel. The bill would require these provisions to be enforced
by the Department of Food and Agriculture, as specified. The bill
would permit the state board to adopt regulations to grant exemptions
to those requirements under specified circumstances. The bill would
also permit the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission to temporarily suspend those requirements if fuel supplies
are shown to be inadequate, as provided.
Because this bill would create new crimes by requiring all diesel
fuel sold or offered for sale in the state to contain specified
percentages of renewable diesel fuel by a certain date, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The United States Energy Information Administration ranks
California as second in petroleum consumption among the fifty states.
(b) As the nation's leading consumer of petroleum for
transportation, California's increasing demand for petroleum and
rapidly growing consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel pose
substantial risks to the state's economy, security and environment.
(c) Growing instability in global oil supplies and rapidly
increasing demand in China, India, and throughout the world are
likely to increase California's vulnerability to oil supply
disruptions and sudden price increases.
(d) California's current and projected levels of gasoline and
diesel demand far exceeds California's refinery capacity, which
results in limited competition and increased vulnerability to market
disruptions.
(e) Cost-effective alternative fuels and advanced technologies are
available today, such as biofuels and hybrid electric vehicles, that
can lessen economic instability caused by high fuel prices and price
spikes, while reducing risks to public health and environmental
degradation caused by increased consumption of petroleum fuel.
(f) Renewable diesel fuels, including biodiesel, are petroleum
diesel substitutes. Biodiesel is produced from domestic renewable
sources and is nontoxic, biodegradable, and cleaner burning than
petroleum diesel.
(g) Biodiesel contains no sulfur or aromatics associated with air
pollution, reduces toxic emissions, and reduces emissions of
greenhouse gases.
(h) It is in the public interest to establish a market for
alternative fuels. By requiring a growing percentage of our fuel
supply to be renewable diesel fuel that meets appropriate fuel
quality standards, California will be able to reduce its dependence
on imports of foreign oil, improve the health and quality of life for
Californians, and stimulate the creation of a new industry in
California that benefits our farmers and rural communities.
(i) In 2004, California fleets used about five million gallons of
biodiesel, and according to the California Energy Commission and the
California Environmental Protection Agency, biodiesel blends as low
as B2 (98 percent diesel and two percent biodiesel) can play an
important role in the introduction of cleaner conventional diesel
fuels and advanced diesel engines, reducing diesel emissions, and
reducing California's dependence on petroleum.
(j) Today almost all vehicle and engine manufacture's accept using
blends up to B5 (95 percent diesel and 5 percent biodiesel) with
existing diesel engines, provided that the fuel complies with
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications.
(k) With agricultural surpluses, commodity prices have reached
record lows. Implementing a California renewable diesel standard
would create new markets for California farm products. Economic
conditions are now favorable to utilize domestic surpluses of bio
based oil to enhance the state's energy security.
SEC. 2. Section 13455 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
13455. (a) The department shall enforce the diesel fuel
specifications of Section 43836 of the Health and Safety Code, that
require diesel fuel sold or offered for sale in the state for use in
internal combustion engines to contain specified percentages of
diesel fuel.
(b) In fulfilling its requirements under subdivision (a), the
department shall have all the same powers that it has in enforcing
the requirements of this division.
(c) By June 1, 2007, the department shall submit a feasibility
study to the Legislature that assesses the potential of California to
produce feedstocks of renewable diesel fuel, as defined in
subdivision (e) of Section 43836 of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 3. Section 43836 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
43836. (a) (1) The state board shall amend California diesel fuel
regulations to include mandatory statewide blends of renewable
diesel fuel as described in paragraphs (2) and (3) after completing
the multimedia evaluation required by Section 43830.8 and after
making the finding required by subdivision (b).
(2) Commencing no later than one year after the publication of the
finding required by subdivision (b), all diesel fuel sold or offered
for sale in the state for use in internal combustion engines,
whether in a mobile or stationary source, shall contain at least 2
percent renewable diesel fuel.
(3) Commencing no later than 2 years after the implementation of
paragraph (2), all diesel fuel sold or offered for sale in the state
for use in internal combustion engines, whether in a mobile or
stationary source, shall contain at least 5 percent renewable diesel
fuel.
(b) The state board shall determine whether
Prior to adoption of a resolution to require mandatory statewide
blends of at least 2 percent or 5 percent renewable diesel fuel, the
state board shall determine that requiring specified renewable
fuel blends as described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision
(a) would maintain or improve upon the emissions reductions and air
quality benefits achieved by the diesel fuel regulations contained in
Article 2 (commencing with Section 2280) of Chapter 5 of Title 13 of
the California Code of Regulations, including emissions reductions
for all pollutants and precursors identified in the State
Implementation Plan for ozone, and emissions of potency weighted
toxics compounds and particulate matter.
(c) The state board may adopt regulations to grant exemptions to
the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b)
paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) if it finds either of
the following:
(1) That engine performance, engine emissions, fuel systems, or
emission control equipment would be adversely affected by the
standards set forth by subdivisions (a) and (b)
in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) .
(2) That the implementation of those subdivisions
paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a)
without the exemptions would adversely affect the goals for
alternative fuels established pursuant to Article 6.5 (commencing
with Section 43865).
(d) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission may temporarily suspend the requirements of
subdivisions (a) and (b) paragraphs (2) and (3) of
subdivision (a) if renewable diesel fuel supplies are shown to
be inadequate, as determined by the commission.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "renewable diesel fuel"
means a diesel fuel that is either of the following:
(1) Biodiesel, which is comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long
chain fatty acids derived from renewable resources including, but not
limited to, vegetable oils, waste grease, or animal fats, meeting
the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) D-6751.
(2) Any other diesel fuel produced from eligible renewable sources
and meeting either the requirements of ASTM D-975 or a
state-approved standard promulgated by an American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) accredited standards development organization,
including, but not limited to, the Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE) and ASTM.
(g)
(f) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as
the California Renewable Diesel Standards Act.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.