CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 2518
Introduced by Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry

February 14, 2018

An act to add Article 10 (commencing with Section 4630) to Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 to the Public Resources Code, relating to forestry.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2518, as introduced, Aguiar-Curry. Innovative forest products and mass timber.
Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Natural Resources Agency. Existing law declares that a thriving in-state forest products sector provides public benefits, including employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas, and economic development for rural communities.
This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, to explore markets, including export markets, for milling, development, and expansion of innovative forest products and mass timber, as defined, that are consistent with the state’s climate objectives on forest lands. The bill would require the department to collaborate with other state agencies and independent experts, including with apprenticeship programs of organized labor, community colleges, and others with similar expertise, on innovative forest products and mass timber workforce training and job creation in rural communities.
Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(a) Dead trees and living small diameter trees and brush present significant wildfire risks and potentially eliminate the carbon dioxide reduction gains that have been made in the state. Additionally, they potentially undermine the long-term management of California’s forests by eroding management objectives designed to sequester maximum amounts of carbon in the ground.
(b) It is possible, through new technologies, to use some of this wood in new products, and it is equally possible to expand California’s wood products exports. The new and expanded markets will need a trained workforce that will provide benefits to the state, especially to rural communities where wood product manufacturing and milling has diminished over the years.
SEC. 2. Article 10 (commencing with Section 4630) is added to Chapter 8 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
Article  10. Innovative Forest Products and Mass Timber
4630. (a) The department, in collaboration with the board, shall explore markets, including export markets, for milling, development, and expansion of innovative forest products and mass timber, that are consistent with the state’s climate objectives on forest lands.
(b) The department shall collaborate with other state agencies and independent experts, including with apprenticeship programs of organized labor, community colleges, and others with similar expertise, on innovative forest products and mass timber workforce training and job creation in rural communities.
(c) For purposes of this section “innovative forest products and mass timber” means products and timber made from California wood and milled and manufactured in California, to the maximum extent possible.