Comment Log Display

On behalf of itself and other interested parties that it
represents, Pacific Legal Foundation submits these comments on
CARB’s Draft 2013 Amendments to the 2008 AB 32 Scoping Plan (the
“Scoping Plan Amendments”).  The Scoping Plan Amendments discuss at
length the actions that CARB and other California state agencies
plan to take in going beyond the 2020 greenhouse gas emissions
goals set forth in AB 32.  Neither CARB nor any other state agency
has the legal authority under AB 32 to take any steps to devise,
promulgate, or implement post-2020 goals for greenhouse gases, with
one minor exception:  CARB and other agencies may make
recommendations to the California Legislature regarding greenhouse
gas legislation that they believe would be prudent for the
legislature to enact in order to further reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in California beyond the emissions goals established by
the Legislature in AB 32 for the year 2020.  Accordingly, the
Scoping Plan Amendments may include post-2020 proposals, goals,
plans, or aspirations only if the amendments are intended to
function solely as proposals for legislation addressed to the
California Legislature.  Otherwise, the 2013 Scoping Plan
Amendments may not touch upon any post-2020 goals but must be
limited to implementation of the 2020 goals actually mandated by
the Legislature in AB 32.  Any effort to include post-2020 issues
in the 2013 Scoping Plan Amendments is not only ultra vires but
also constitutes a wasteful and unauthorized use of state resources
that could trigger constitutional as well as statutory challenges.