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 act authorizes the state board to include in its regulations the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources 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 by the Legislature. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to develop guidance on reporting and quantification methods for state agencies receiving an appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Existing law, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995, requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program to provide incentives to farmers whose practices promote the well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their habitat. The act requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to convene a 5-member Scientific Advisory Panel on Environmental Farming, as prescribed, for the purpose of providing advice and assistance to federal, state, and local government agencies on issues relating to air, water, and wildlife habitat, as specified. Existing law authorizes the panel to establish ad hoc committees to assist the panel in performing its functions.

This bill would change the number of members on the panel from 5 to 7 members and would require that the secretary appoint 5 members, 5 instead of 3, 3 of these members. The bill would require that, of the members appointed by the secretary, at least 2 members, instead of one, have a minimum of 5 years of training and experience in the field of agriculture, and at least one member have training and experience in on-farm management practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon, or both. members, as prescribed. The bill would additionally allow the secretary to appoint, in consultation with the panel, ex officio nonvoting members to the panel. The bill would add representatives of nongovernmental entities to persons who may be on the ad hoc committees.

The bill would require the State Air Resources Board to consult with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and the panel in developing the quantification methods to demonstrate and quantify on-farm greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the panel, to establish and oversee a Healthy Soils Program to provide to seek to optimize climate benefits while supporting the economic viability of California agriculture by providing incentives, including loans, grants, research, and technical assistance, or educational materials and outreach, to farmers whose management practices contribute to healthful healthy soils and result in net long-term on-farm greenhouse gas benefits. The bill would authorize the program to include funding of on-farm demonstration projects and, if the funding of those projects is included, would require the department to establish a technical advisory committee to review the project applications for scientific validity and the project’s potential to achieve greenhouse gas benefits. The bill would require the department to implement the program and quantify greenhouse gas emissions reductions in accordance with the quantification methods developed by the State Air Resources Board and specified funding guidelines. The bill would make $20,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the department to support the Healthy Soils Program.