The State of California has passed legislation that provides up to $2 million in incentives for the production of ethanol from rice straw. The bill, AB 2514, by Assemblywoman Helen Thomson, establishes an Agricultural Biomass Utilization Fund designed to help create a new market for rice straw. "This measure will help California utilize agricultural biomass as a means of avoiding landfill use, preventing air pollution, and enhancing environmental quality," said Governor Gray Davis. "It will help to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in Northern California communities with historically high levels of unemployment. AB 2514 will foster alternative uses for rice straw and create new markets for recycled rice straw products."