In the past 2 weeks, both the Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittees that handle natural resource issues have heard testimony on how the revenues from the cap-and-trade auctions should be allocated. The Department of Finance (DOF) and Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) presented on Governor Brown’s proposal for the revenues, as well as comments being made from affected State Agency officials, including Mary Nichols from the California Air Resources Board (ARB), and Ken Pimlott from the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
As reported in RCRC’s summary of the Governor’s Proposed Budget, $50 million in cap-and-trade revenues was slated to go to CAL FIRE to fund fire prevention and urban forestry projects. The Budget Subcommittee process is intended to flesh out details of how that funding is to be allocated, and whether or not it will flow to CAL FIRE as proposed by the Governor.
RCRC supports the idea of cap-and-trade funding flowing to forestry and fire prevention projects. Forest fires contribute greenhouse gases, particulate matter, and reduce the amount of carbon sequestration available through the mass destruction of vegetation. Therefore, it is practical to spend some of the revenues generated through the cap-and-trade program to attempt to reduce the risk of fires.
However, it was clear from the tone of some of the comments of committee members, and certainly some of the members of the public who testified, that the proposal may face some stiff opposition. One organization proposed a modification to the plan for the revenue-stream, suggesting that existing SRA Fee revenue could be used to fund local fire prevention grants, and that part of the cap-and-trade revenue slated for CAL FIRE could instead be used to purchase conservation easements. It should be noted that SRA Fee revenues can already, under current law, be spent on local fire prevention grants, although there has not been an appropriation for these grants to-date. Given the Administration’s previously stated reluctance to fund SRA grants, the total amount that could be spent on fire prevention projects could be reduced, allocating some of that revenue to easements instead.
The allocation of the cap-and-trade revenue was left open by the Budget Subcommittees, and will likely be revisited several more times before the completion of the Budget process. RCRC will continue to pursue those items that members consider the best use of the cap-and-trade funds, including fire prevention, rural carve-outs for transportation, funding Sierra Nevada Conservancy and other forest-health projects and programs, and funding the Williamson Act subventions. RCRC’s letter on cap-and-trade revenues can be accessed here.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Cyndi Hillery at 916.447.4806 or chillery@rcrcnet.org.