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REPORT:

Legislative Committee

SYNOPSIS:

The Legislative Committee considered agenda items including recommended positions on the following bills for which the Board will consider adopting positions:

AB 1642 (Bowen) – Reformulated Gasoline;
AB 2067 (Cunneen) – Hazardous Waste: Clean Air Solvents; and
AB 2692 (Kuehl) – Accelerated Depreciation of Ultra-Low and Zero-Emission Vehicles

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Approve the legislative positions recommended below.

Richard Alarcón, Chairman
Legislative Committee

Attendance

The Legislative Committee met on April 24, 1998, at 8:30 a.m. Richard Alarcón, Chairman of the Legislative Committee, Jim Silva, Vice-Chair, and Committee members Michael Antonovich, Nell Soto, and Roy Wilson (by video conference) were present. Board member Wayne Nastri was also in attendance and participated in Committee discussion, but did not vote. (Attachment 1)

Strategic Work Plan for Legislative Consulting Services in Washington

Raul Tapia and John O’Donnell, AQMD Legislative Representatives in Washington, briefed the Committee by teleconference on their strategic work plan. (Attachment 2) Mr. O’Donnell stated that the strategy for approaching Congress for additional funding is that the AQMD has the most severe air quality compliance problem in the nation, sets the precedent for Congressional/EPA air quality efforts and additional federal funding is needed in order to carry out that leadership role. The benefits that will be derived both locally and nationally from additional funding is important and should be emphasized.

Mr. O’Donnell also discussed ways in which the AQMD could obtain federal assistance. Suggestions center around gaining unified support of the southern California Congressional delegation for additional funding, particularly Congressional members on the House Appropriations Committee (Jerry Lewis, Ron Packard, Randy Cunningham, and Esteban Torres), as well as Senator Boxer. Mr. O’Donnell added that discussions are underway with Congressional and Senate staff and meetings will be scheduled for AQMD Board member and staff visits to Washington.

Mr. Tapia also provided the Committee with an update on HR 630 (Bilbray), which would amend the Clean Air Act to allow California’s cleaner-burning gasoline regulations to apply in California, in lieu of existing federal requirements, when California regulations achieve equivalent or greater reductions in emissions of ozone-forming compounds and toxic contaminants. HR 630 was heard by the House subcommittee on Health and Environment on April 22, 1998, but no action was taken. Mr. Tapia added that he will continue to monitor this bill and report back to the Committee on the progress. (Attachment 3)

Strategic Work Plan for Legislative Consulting Services in Sacramento

Arnold Torres and Dario Frommer, AQMD Subcontractors for Legislative Representation in Sacramento, briefed the Committee on their strategic work plan. (Attachment 4) Mr. Torres outlined a 1998 State Legislative Agenda for Sacramento, which emphasizes the need for a consistent message and strategies to deliver that message, as well as 1998 legislative priorities. Mr. Torres added that the importance of public health cannot be stressed enough.

Mr. Torres stated that very few legislators understand what AQMD does, even more so with term limits. Legislators and their staff need to be educated quickly on what the AQMD does. Mr. Torres added that the AQMD reputation in the Capitol is unique: high name recognition; low approval rating. A system should be developed that informs legislators of important issues in their area. Councilwoman Soto stated that the AQMD Public Affairs office should be doing this outreach effort.

Mr. Torres identified four strategies for delivering AQMD’s message. These are to identify key persuasion targets; assess need-to-know information on a target-by-target basis; arrange opportunities to deliver the AQMD message; and connect Governing Board members to Capitol decision-makers. All are critical in delivering the AQMD message. Ways to work on these strategies are to meet with members that are having difficulty on permit issues and possibly hold issue forums.

Councilman Alarcón stated he had concerns with the approach. Legislators need AQMD because public officials need implementation dollars. The AQMD needs to present arguments to legislators in a way to overcome their concerns. Give legislators information to answer concerns of constituents. Let them know what they gain from the AQMD, for example, that the AQMD provides assistance to businesses impacted by rules. Mr. Nastri expressed concern with the statement made by Mr. Torres that "the Legislature needs the AQMD". Mr. Nastri expressed concern that legislators may get a wrong impression.

Mr. Torres responded that the message is that the Legislature needs the AQMD to underscore the benefits the AQMD provides to its constituents. Councilman Alarcón added that he believed this concept was being presented as a challenge and that the goal is to persuade the Legislature that they need us on particular issues.

Supervisor Silva stated that the Legislature is concerned about the economic affect fees have on businesses in their district. Mr. Torres confirmed that many legislators have the concerns described by Supervisor Silva. Councilman Alarcón stated that legislators need to know what benefit they receive from the AQMD. If they don’t vote for AB 2194, they need to know that they may not get money for projects in their districts. Councilwoman Soto stated that the AQMD and the Legislature really need each other and the AQMD should establish a relationship before they need them.

Councilman Alarcón stated that the AQMD needs to focus on two important issues: the need to argue economic benefits and emphasize compliance issues and ramifications when there is failure to comply. Dr. Barry Wallerstein, Acting Executive Officer, stated that staff will work with the Sacramento legislative consulting team to ensure these issues are emphasized. Councilwoman Soto commended the consulting team for their work in Sacramento on AB 2194.

Councilman Alarcón stated that he believes Assembly Member Sally Havice voted no on AB 2194 because the AQMD failed to provide her with arguments needed to stand up to the challenge. He added that he recognizes competitive districts are challenging but it is the AQMD who is not providing the Legislators with the message they need in order to support the AQMD.

Mr. Torres responded that he believed there are some limitations to working with legislators because of political context and most members are concerned about repercussions at the polls if they vote for particular issues, such as fee/tax increases. The AQMD is working to clean up the air for the people in the South Coast Air Basin yet no constituents testified on the bill. May need a more populous approach.

Councilman Alarcón expressed concern that the Sacramento strategic plan was heavy on message but did not outline a strategic plan. He asked that discussion of the Sacramento strategic plan be continued to the May meeting. Councilman Alarcón added that he would like to meet separately with the Sacramento consulting team to discuss their strategic plan. Councilman Alarcón commended the team for their discussion focusing on the message but stated that timelines should be added.

Mr. Nastri expressed concern that different messages were being delivered in Sacramento by AQMD regarding AB 2194 and program extension changes and stressed that Board members are only considering amendments to extend the program no less than five years. Want to make sure the AQMD message is consistent. Mr. Nastri also recognized Board Vice Chair Norma Glover and Member Nell Soto for their work in Sacramento on AB 2194.

Update on AB 2194 (Washington) – Clean Fuels Reauthorization

Lupe Valdez, DEO/Public Affairs and Local Government Assistance, updated the Committee on AB 2194 and the outcome of the Assembly Transportation Committee hearing held on April 24. AB 2194 passed the Assembly Transportation Committee 11-4 and is now scheduled in Assembly Appropriations. Ms. Valdez reported that staff is working with Assembly Member Washington to have the hearing on Wednesday, May 13, with May 20 as an alternative. The Committee was provided with information on the final votes in the Assembly Transportation Committee, membership of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and a list of supporters for AB 2194. Ms. Valdez noted that the Automobile Club of Southern California was originally opposed to the bill but has now gone Neutral. (Attachment 5)

Ms. Valdez explained that there are 21 members on the Appropriations Committee and 11 votes are necessary to get AB 2194 passed. In addition, May 22 is the last day for bills to pass same-house fiscal committee and May 29 is the last day for same-house bills to pass the Floor, where 41 votes are needed to pass AB 2194 on to the Senate. Councilman Alarcón asked how many members of the Transportation Committee are also on the Appropriations Committee. Ms. Valdez responded that Assembly Members Baca, Cardenas, and Poochigian are on both committees, and all three were not in attendance when AB 2194 was brought to a vote in Transportation Committee.

Councilman Alarcón asked how many Assembly Democrats there are in competitive districts? Mr. Torres responded that six have been identified. Councilman Alarcón stated that maybe the approach should then be to focus on securing Republican votes to ensure bipartisan support. Mr. Nastri added that some Republicans that voted for the bill in Transportation Committee have made it clear they will not support the bill on the floor. Mr. Torres stated that Assembly Member Pacheco has stated he will vote for the bill on the floor, as opposed to being a co-sponsor.

Legislative Status Report

Ms. Valdez provided the Committee with an updated Legislative Status Report (Attachment 6). The report reflects recent votes on legislation the AQMD is tracking. Ms. Valdez pointed out that SB 1643 (Hayden), passed out of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee 6-3 and is now scheduled to be heard in Senate Appropriations. This bill appropriates $1.8 million from the Air Pollution Control Fund to fund an enhanced AQMD enforcement program with specific inspection and monitoring requirements. The Governing Board approved a Support position on this bill at their April 10, 1998, meeting.

Mr. Nastri asked how the provisions of SB 1643 are different from what the AQMD is already doing? Dr. Wallerstein responded that SB 1643 appropriates a one-time grant of $1.8 million to be used for enforcement purposes. Mr. Nastri asked if the grant could be used for the AQMD service station enforcement program. Dr. Wallerstein responded that the grant could be used for this program.

Senate Bill 432 (Lewis) – AQMD Rule 2202

Staff requested that SB 432 (Lewis) be added to the Committee agenda for consideration. The bill was amended on April 20, 1998, to move the threshold under Rule 2202 from 100 employees per site to 250 employees per site permanently. Companies under 250 employees per site are required to revert back under Rule 2202 on June 1, 1998. The Committee concurred and the item was added to the agenda for consideration. (Attachment 7)

Ms. Valdez reported that a letter was sent to Chairman Burke from Senator Lewis thanking the AQMD for their cooperation with SB 836. Dr. Wallerstein explained that the Board directed staff to write legislative leaders seeking guidance on implementation of SB 836 with respect to reinstituting the ridesharing emission reduction program for 100 – 250 employees. This letter is Senator Lewis’ response back to the Board. Senator Lewis had SB 432 available to amend to address this issue and did so to make the exemption permanent for those employers with 100-250 employees. The remainder of the program is left in place.

Dr. Wallerstein further explained that this now raises several policy issues for the Governing Board. First, the federal Clean Air Act requires the AQMD to have a program of this nature or to provide emissions equivalency through some other mechanism. If smaller employers are permanently exempt from Rule 2202, lost emission reductions have to be made up. Secondly, last year the South Coast Air Basin had relatively high CO readings, partly due to El Nino effect. Staff now believes it will be difficult to meet the federal CO standard by the mandated deadline of the year 2000. This makes ridesharing more important from an emission compliance standpoint with the federal Clean Air Act. And lastly, the AQMD is still responsible for the $1.5 million annually for voluntary ridesharing, which at the time SB 836 went through the Legislature, it was noted that the AQMD only had two years worth of funding out of the Small Business Loan Guarantee fund and then funding would have to come from the General Fund, which would create a hardship.

Dr. Wallerstein added that if the Legislative Committee were to decide to take either a Neutral or Support position, staff would recommend that discussions take place with the Senator regarding the $1.5 million. The business community has some very significant concerns about reinstituting the program and the larger companies that have remained in the program say that if the small companies don’t get reinstituted, don’t come to us to make up lost emission reductions.

Councilman Alarcón asked for staff’s recommendation. Dr. Wallerstein responded that there is no staff recommendation at this time. Ms. Valdez added that Senator Lewis has asked that the bill be considered in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 6. At that time the Appropriations Committee can refer the bill back to Assembly Transportation Committee for consideration.

Councilman Alarcón asked if this issue would be best decided by the full Board. Dr. Wallerstein responded that if the Committee agreed, this issue could be added to the May Board agenda for consideration and staff could provide additional information to the Board in the interim. The Legislative Committee concurred and SB 432 will be added to the May Board agenda for discussion and consideration.

Update on Proposed Legislative Conference

Ms. Valdez reported that Marguerite Archie-Hudson was unable to attend the meeting to provide an update on the Sacramento Legislative Conference, but provided the Committee with a written report. (Attachment 8) Ms. Archie-Hudson is recommending, at the suggestion of Speaker Villaraigosa, that the conference be scheduled in early June, after the May 29 bill deadline. Councilman Alarcón asked if a date in June was suggested. Dr. Wallerstein stated that staff will check Board members availability in June and coordinate a date with the Speaker’s office. The Committee unanimously approved holding the Sacramento Legislative Conference in June.

Matrix on Interactions Regarding Federal Policies

An updated matrix was provided to the Committee as information only. (Attachment 9)

Recommended Positions on Bills:

Staff provided analyses and recommendations on three bills and provided a brief description of each bill. (Attachment 10)

Bill/Title	Recommended Position
AB 1642 (Bowen) - Reformulated Gasoline	SUPPORT with AMENDMENTS
AB 2067 (Cunneen) - Hazardous Waste: Clean Air Solvents	SUPPORT with AMENDMENTS*
AB 2692 (Kuehl) - Accelerated Depreciation of Ultra-Low	SUPPORT

* Support with Amendments specific sections of AB 2067 dealing with Clean Air
Solvents; Neutral on remainder of the bill..