An act to amend Section 38561 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.
Summary
AB 513 would amend the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 to require the State Air Resources Board to include greenhouse gas emissions from wildlands and forest fires in the state’s scoping plan. The scoping plan is the state’s long-range blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the bill would make wildfire-related emissions an explicit part of that planning process.
The bill does not create a new emissions cap or separate regulatory program for wildfires. Instead, it directs the board to account for wildfire and forest-fire emissions when identifying reduction measures, evaluating costs and benefits, considering voluntary actions such as carbon sequestration, and updating the plan every five years. The bill also preserves existing requirements for consultation with other agencies and public workshops, including outreach in heavily polluted and disadvantaged communities.
Impact
AB 513 would amend Health and Safety Code Section 38561, which governs the Air Resources Board’s scoping plan under the Global Warming Solutions Act. Its practical effect would be to require the board to incorporate emissions from wildlands and forest fires into the state’s greenhouse-gas planning framework, potentially affecting how California measures emissions, evaluates progress toward climate targets, and prioritizes mitigation strategies. The bill would primarily affect the Air Resources Board, state climate planning, and stakeholders involved in wildfire, forestry, land management, and emissions accounting.
Sentiment
The available context suggests generally favorable or at least supportive sentiment among the bill’s authors and coauthors, reflected in the broad bipartisan-looking list of legislative supporters attached to the measure. There are no committee transcript snippets or recorded votes provided showing debate, opposition, or amendments, and the bill’s introduction appears to have advanced only to committee filing at the time of the record provided. Overall, the bill reads as a targeted climate-accounting measure rather than a sweeping regulatory change.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is whether wildfire and forest-fire emissions should be treated as part of the state’s climate planning obligations, given that those emissions are influenced by natural conditions, land management, and wildfire behavior as well as policy choices. Supporters are likely to view the bill as improving the accuracy and completeness of California’s emissions planning, while critics may question whether the Air Resources Board can meaningfully regulate or offset emissions from wildlands and fires through the scoping plan. Another possible concern is whether adding these emissions complicates existing climate targets or shifts attention away from emissions sources more directly controlled by regulation.
Codifies finding that greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change and endanger public health, safety, welfare, and environment; amends "Air Pollution Control Act (1954)" to define greenhouse gases as air pollutants subject to regulation.