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Community Corner

Three competing plans emerge for spending cap-and-trade fees

And now there are three competing plans for spending about $1 billion in cap-and-trade fees on businesses that emit greenhouse gases, with three weeks to resolve the differences before the June 15 deadline for enacting a state budget.

The fees are, by law, supposed to be used to reducecarbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to meet state goals.

Gov. Jerry Brown's 2014-15 budget would spend $870 million in fees, with the largest single piece being $250 million to bolster financial underpinnings of the state's bullet train project. Plus, Brown wants the Legislature to permanently commit a third of future cap-and-trade revenues to the project.

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Assembly's leadership, in a plan unveiled on Thursday, wants to raise cap-and-trade spending to just over $1 billion with two pots of $400 million each, one of which could go to the bullet train if the state'sStrategic Growth Council – an agency of the governor's top appointees – agrees.

Moreover, the Assembly's plan would give Brown the authority to seek a $20 billion federal loan and issue a $20 billion revenue bond for the high-speed rail project, both of which would rely on future cap-and-trade fees to repay.

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Friday, the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee adopted another version that would allocate $450 million for mass transit and intercity rail, including the bullet train, plus appropriations for smaller programs.

There are some other differences as well, including how much money, if any, should be spent on subsidies for buyers of low-emission vehicles and various programs to reduce solid waste, restoring wetlands and support "sustainable communities," however they may be defined.

The differences will be resolved – if they can be – during negotiations among Brown and Democratic legislative leaders.


Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/05/three-competing-plans-emerge-for-spending-cap-and...
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