SEC. 2.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1)Governor Jerry Brown, by Executive Order No. B-48-18, established goals of achieving 200 hydrogen-fueling stations statewide by 2025, and Governor Gavin Newsom, by Executive Order No. N-79-20, set increasingly aggressive zero-emission goals for
greenhouse gases for California.
(2)To advance these goals, Chapter
(1) Chapter 401 of the Statutes of 2013 (AB 8) was enacted to establish a statewide hydrogen-fueling network established, in part, funding to support fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)
vehicle infrastructure
that provides
fueling coverage and capacity to hydrogen-fueled vehicles in the state.
(3)AB 8 provided for 10 years of investment and subsidies for hydrogen-fueling stations, however, these subsidies have
(2) Hydrogen-fueling station funding has primarily been awarded to large urban areas, leaving many rural regions and disadvantaged communities without access to this clean energy technology.
(4)
(3) The State Air Resources Board’s 2022 Annual Evaluation indicated that most of our state’s rural regions and disadvantaged communities do not have access to hydrogen refueling stations because stations are concentrated in the areas of the San Francisco Bay, Sacramento, greater Los Angeles, and San Diego. Diego regions.
(5)
(4) One such rural community, the City of Lancaster, has been a pioneer in embracing hydrogen power, setting bold and unprecedented clean energy and renewable hydrogen power goals. In 2019, the City of Lancaster became the first “net zero” energy city in the world and, in 2022, was recognized by the United States Department of Energy as an H2 mentor city as part of that department’s H2 Twin Cities 2022 initiative. The City of Lancaster is also the first H2 city in the United States.
(6)
(5) Despite having made significant strides in advancing clean energy and having been nationally and internationally recognized for its innovations, the City of Lancaster and the entire Antelope Valley region were excluded from the subsidies did not receive funding for hydrogen fueling infrastructure provided under AB 8. the Clean Transportation Program.
(7)
(6) Hydrogen is a zero-carbon energy carrier that has the potential potential, depending on how it is produced, to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create highly skilled jobs of the future, and its adoption should not be limited to only the most populous areas of the state.
(8)
(7) The Public Utilities Commission, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the State Air
Resources Board have a responsibility to promote the equitable distribution of clean energy technologies throughout the state and to identify and prioritize areas that lack access to these technologies.
(9)
(8) There are certain rural regions and disadvantaged areas of California, such as the City of Lancaster, that have demonstrated a commitment to advancing clean energy and are well-positioned to benefit from increased, equitable investment in renewable hydrogen infrastructure.
(b) In enacting this act, it is the intent of
the Legislature to build on the progress made by AB 8 by directing
direct the appropriate agencies, in their expenditure of the budgetary allocations for our state’s hydrogen refueling infrastructure, to prioritize the needs of rural regions and disadvantaged communities to ensure that all Californians have access to the benefits of hydrogen technology. communities.