California has this system of charging gross polluters a fee based upon some sort of complicated formula. I gather that the polluters can purchase credits from non-polluters to offset some of these fees, but they still have to pay a lot of money into the fund if they can't meet the State's pollution goals. (Needless to say the money that is paid to CA gets eventually paid by their customers.) In any case, a lot of money has piled up in the fund over the past few years and the Governor has just signed a law that allocates some of these funds as detailed below - according to an article written by Johnathan J. Cooper of the
AP.
$900 million was approved to be spent from the fund, which amounts to 2/3 of the money available. $363 million will be used for clean vehicle incentives, $95 million to plant more carbon-capturing plans in urban areas, $135 million will go to transit and intercity rail construction. Local governments will receive $140 million to promote energy efficiency programs. Dairy farmers will get $50 million to reduce methane emissions from cows and another $40 million will go to promoting composting. About 60% of the cap and trade program revenues are earmarked for specific projects such as the high-speed LA to SF rail project. $462 million remains in the fund to fund future projects. The governor also signed a law requiring that at least 10% of cap and trade proceeds benefit low-income households.
In addition, the governor also approved a bill attempting to put tens of millions of dead trees to use by requiring a portion of the state's energy be generated by burning them.
