Assembly BillIntroducedHealth and Safety
AB 1849: Decarbonized gaseous fuels.
What AB 1849 does, verified May 16, 2026
<p>The bill requires the State Board to conduct an assessment by December 31, 2029, on the amount of decarbonized gaseous fuels needed for hard-to-electrify end uses and electricity reliability. The assessment must be posted online and include policies and incentives to increase production and use of decarbonized gas in California.</p>
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-05-14)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions13 total · showing 5
| May. 14, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| May. 06, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr. 23, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr. 23, 2026 | Coauthors revised. |
| Apr. 16, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on U. & E. |
Latest bill textAmended version, April 15, 2026 · 1,049 words
| Amended IN Assembly April 15, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 06, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1849
| Introduced by Assembly Member Papan |
February 11, 2026 |
An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 43875) to Chapter 4 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to air resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1849, as amended, Papan. Decarbonized gaseous fuels.
Existing law regulates the emission of air contaminants, including the oxides of nitrogen, into the atmosphere. Existing law generally vests regulatory jurisdiction over stationary sources of air pollution to the air pollution control districts and air quality management districts and regulatory jurisdiction over mobile sources of air pollution to the State Air Resources Board.
This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2029, the state board to conduct an assessment of the amount of decarbonized gaseous fuels that will be needed to decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors end uses and maintain reliability in the electricity sector and to post the assessment on its internet website. The bill would require the assessment to include an assessment of the need for decarbonized gaseous fuels in for each hard-to-electrify sector, end use, as defined. The bill would require the state board, in assessing the policies and incentives, to consider, among other things, how to incentivize the increased production and use of decarbonized gas instate in California and how to maximize the benefits of decarbonized gas production and use, use in California, as provided.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 43875) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:Article 7. Decarbonized Gaseous Fuels
43875.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) To meet California’s climate targets, all sectors of the economy will need to decarbonize.
(b) While California has made significant progress increasing the use of renewable electricity and low-carbon transportation fuels, little progress has been made to decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy.
(c) California has increased the procurement of renewable electricity substantially since the first renewables portfolio standard was enacted, but has only reduced natural gas used for electricity generation by 3 percent and has seen a rapid increase in diesel backup generators for electricity reliability.
(d) In California, hard-to-electrify sectors and fossil fuels used for electricity reliability together contribute more than one-third of California’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
(e) Decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors and the electricity sector itself will require quickly increasing the production and use of decarbonized gas, sustainable aviation and shipping fuels, and other decarbonized fuels.
(f) The 2022 climate change scoping plan calls for significant increases in the production and use of decarbonized hydrogen and bioenergy to decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses and provide carbon negative emissions needed to reach the state’s goal of carbon neutrality by midcentury.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature to develop additional policies and incentives to accelerate the production and use of decarbonized gas. gas in California.
(h) Increasing the production and use of low-carbon gas will decarbonized gas in California may help protect public health by reducing air and water pollution from fossil fuels, especially the particulate matter and toxic air contaminant emissions from diesel.
(i) Increasing the production of low-carbon decarbonized fuels generated from organic waste in California may also help to mitigate wildfires, meet the landfill diversion requirements of Section 39730.6, and meet the methane and black carbon reduction requirements of Section 39730.5.
43875.1.
(a) On or before December 31, 2029, the state board shall conduct an assessment of the amount of decarbonized gaseous fuels that will be needed to decarbonize hard-to-electrify(1) An assessment of the need for, and economic viability of, decarbonized gaseous fuels in for each hard-to-electrify sector. end use.
(2) An assessment of the need for, and cost associated with, decarbonized gaseous fuels for electricity reliability and resilience.
(3) An assessment of current and potential policies and incentives to accelerate the production and use of decarbonized gaseous fuels. fuels in California.
(4) An assessment of opportunities for, and economic viability of, using agricultural and forest residues to help decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors. end uses.
(b) In assessing the policies and incentives described in subdivision (a), the state board shall consider all of the following:
(1) Whether the policies are consistent with the carbon reductions in the 2022 and 2027 scoping plans identified as necessary to decarbonize necessary to decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses and to maintain electrical reliability. electricity reliability are consistent with the carbon reductions in the 2022 and 2027 scoping plans.
(2)Recognize the compliance obligations of entities that are regulated pursuant to the Cap-and-Invest Program.
(3)
(2)
How to incentivize the increased production and use of decarbonized gas(4)
(3)
How to maximize the benefits of decarbonized gas production and(5)
(4)
Policies to ensure that decarbonized gases are displacing fossil fuel use.(6)Consider the
(5) The
cost implications and economic impacts of using alternatives to fossil gas for both impacted businesses and end-use consumers.(c) (1)For purposes of this section, “hard-to-electrify sectors” end uses” means those sectors end uses, except onroad transportation, that cannot technically, economically, or practically convert to electricity due to their need for high heat, high energy density, or other operational factors. Those sectors include, but are not limited to, cement, glass, and steel manufacturing, aviation and maritime fuel industries, and food processing industries. The state board shall identify hard-to-electrify end uses with the highest potential to achieve emissions reductions using decarbonized gaseous fuels.
(2)“Hard-to-electrify sectors” does not include sectors that are regulated pursuant to the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations).
Text of AB 1849 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions