California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: scoping plan.

Assembly Members Jeff Gonzalez and Essayli, joined by Senator Dahle and multiple legislative coauthors, propose expanding California's greenhouse gas emissions tracking to include emissions from wildlands and forest fires under the state's climate change planning framework. Their legislation would modify the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 by requiring the State Air Resources Board to incorporate these natural source emissions in its periodic scoping plan for emissions reductions.

The bill adds a single provision to the existing law that directs the Air Resources Board to account for greenhouse gas emissions from wildlands and forest fires when developing and updating the state's emissions reduction strategy. This expands the scope of emissions sources considered in California's climate planning, which currently focuses on monitoring and regulating human-generated greenhouse gases. The Air Resources Board must continue updating this comprehensive plan at least every five years through its established process of technical analysis, public workshops, and stakeholder engagement.

The measure maintains all existing requirements for the scoping plan, including evaluating economic impacts, considering effects on small businesses, and examining emissions reduction programs in other jurisdictions. The Air Resources Board retains its mandate to recommend various compliance mechanisms and incentives for achieving emissions reductions, while adding wildland and forest fire emissions to the sources it must analyze and address in its planning process.