Report:

Legislative Committee

Synopsis:

The Legislative Committee considered agenda items including recommended positions on the following bills:

SB 432 (Lewis) - Voluntary Ridesharing: State Funding
SB 521(Mountjoy) - Reformulated Gasoline: MTBE
SB 1113 (Solis) - CEQA: Environmental Justice
SB 987 (Sher) - Aerosol Paints: CARB Authority

The Board will consider adopting positions on these bills.

Recommended Action:

Approve the legislative positions recommended below.

Dr. Roy Wilson, Vice Chairman
Legislative Committee

Attendance

Present were Committee Vice-Chairman Roy Wilson and Committee Members Nell Soto and Cody Cluff. In the absence of Committee Chairman William Burke and Committee Members Jim Silva and Michael Antonovich, and pursuant to the Procedures for Standing Committees of the Governing Board, adopted March 8, 1996, Board Chairman Mikels appointed himself as an ad hoc member of the Legislative Committee for the June 20, 1997, meeting only. (Attachment 1).

Director’s Report: Catherine Witherspoon informed the Committee that there is no pending legislation that would alter the District’s Governing Board, despite rumors to that effect and testimony at last month’s hearing. Staff is expecting oversight hearings this fall, however, on air quality topics ranging from the new federal standards to status of emission credit programs.

Legislative Status Report:

A written update only was provided. (Attachment 2)

Recommended Positions on Bills:

Staff provided analyses and recommendations on four bills and provided a brief description of each bill (Attachment 3).

Bill/Title Recommended Position

SB 432 (Lewis) Support

SB 521 (Mountjoy) Watch

SB 1113 (Solis) Support

SB 987 (Sher) Watch

• SB 432 (Lewis) originally applied smog impact fee revenues ($10 million of the $50 million generated annually by the $300 out-of-state vehicle import fee) to voluntary rideshare programs. The bill now proposes to redirect $3 million of Caltrans’ existing funds. County transportation commissions and SCAG are supporting this version. The Legislative Committee concurred with staff’s recommendation to change AQMD’s position from Watch to Support.

• SB 521 (Mountjoy) is the leading bill dealing with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline. It has been substantially amended since the District took an "Oppose" position to the point that most other groups have removed their active opposition. However, CARB does have residual concerns with the language. After much discussion, the Legislative Committee voted to change its current Oppose position to Watch. Cindy Hasenjager of the California Renewable Fuels Council expressed concerns about the state’s historical bias against ethanol fuels, which was noted in staff’s analysis. Ms. Hasenjager wanted the Board to understand that there are alternatives to MTBE.

• SB 1113 (Solis) requires the state’s California Environmental Quality Act guidelines to address environmental justice -- namely disproportionate impacts on minority and low-income populations -- by the year 2000. The Legislative Committee concurred with staff’s Support recommendation.

• SB 987 (Sher) prohibits CARB from adopting any regulations that have the effect of banning any "product form" of aerosol paints. In May, the Legislative Committee approved an "Oppose" position on the bill. On June 13, the Governing Board referred the "Oppose" recommendation back to Committee for more discussion. Staff explained that the initial position was based on a continuing trend of relaxing CARB’s consumer product authority, as compared to the 1997 AQMP’s assumption of 91% emission reductions from the aerosol paint category. Nina Hull, assistant to Board Member Jim Silva, stated that Mr. Silva believed the Legislative Committee had actually adopted a Watch position on SB 987. Curtis Coleman representing Sherwin-Williams spoke against an Oppose position since, in his view, SB 987 merely corrected a drafting error in prior legislation. However, Mr. Coleman also reported that a proposed amendment to SB 987 would replace existing law’s 60% emission reduction mandate with more generic requirements. Ultimately, the Committee changed its position to Watch, but directed staff to express concerns to the author (Senator Sher) about the erosion of CARB’s consumer product authority.

Update on AB 1114 (Napolitano)

Staff reported that Assemblymember Grace Napolitano’s bill AB 1114, requiring an audit of AQMD, has been withdrawn. In lieu of AB 1114, the State Bureau of Audits will be doing a selective, external audit of AQMD functions not currently covered by any other review including affirmative action, public affairs and "green marketing." (Attachment 4)

Using Emission Reduction Credits to Achieve Transportation Conformity

At last month’s meeting, Supervisor Jon Mikels directed staff to evaluate possible solutions to SCAG’s nonconforming Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), including the use of emission reduction credits. Staff outlined several options for closing the emission gap and achieving conformity (Attachment 5). The Legislative Committee agreed with staff’s recommendation to focus on technical amendments to the RTP first. The next step would be to adjust the 1997 AQMP, if necessary to accommodate the best possible transportation plan in light of funding constraints.

Other Business

Board Member Nell Soto announced that an issue had arisen since the publication of the Legislative Committee agenda that required immediate attention; namely, the need to elevate Title III (air toxics) implementation issues to the Congressional level. With the approval of all members present, that item was added to the agenda. Pat Leyden then presented a paper developed out of the Home Rule Working Group’s discussions describing the Title III problem and possible solutions. The biggest issue is federal recordkeeping requirements that many local businesses find unreasonable and which are contrary to AQMD’s streamlining efforts. Members of the Home Rule Working Group recommended that contact be initiated with Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) about possible riders to U.S. EPA’s pending budget bill. (Attachment 6) The recommendation was approved with the proviso that staff undertake a bipartisan approach and involve the whole California Congressional delegation.

Public Comments

There were none.

Ethnic Community Advisory Group

Attached for your information are the Ethnic Community Advisory Group minutes for the June 11, 1997, meeting. (Attachment 7)

Attachments

1. Attendance Record
2. Legislative Status Report
3. Recommended Positions on Bills
4. AB 1114 (Napolitano)
5. Options for Achieving Conformity
6. Legislative Proposal for Relief from Certain Federal Title III Requirements
7. Ethnic Community Advisory Group minutes

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