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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 44 (McClintock) - Preferential Use Lanes
SB 17 (Figueroa) - Transit Passes

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Approve the legislative positions recommended below.

Beatrice LaPisto-Kirtley, Chair
Legislative Committee

Attendance

The Legislative Committee met on January 22, 1999. Present were Committee Chair Beatrice LaPisto-Kirtley and Committee members Michael Antonovich and Roy Wilson (by video conference). Dr. William Burke, AQMD Chair, was also in attendance (by video conference) but did not vote. (Attachment 1)

Washington Update

John Montgomery, Legislative Representative in Washington, briefed the Committee by teleconference on activities in Washington. Mr. Montgomery reported that President Clinton has included $200 million in the budget for the new Clean Air Partnership Fund introduced during the State of the Union address. Mr. Montgomery shared an excerpt from the State of the Union address on the Clean Air Partnership Fund:

To help protect public health in case of threat of global warming, President Clinton is proposing $200 million in FY 2000 funding for a new Clean Air Partnership Fund supporting state local and private efforts that achieve early reductions in both greenhouse gas emissions and ground level air pollutants. The fund, to be included in the President's FY 2000 budget proposal, will direct new resources to state and local governments to provide financing for public and private sector projects that accelerate pollution reductions. This new financing will support demonstration projects that go beyond legal requirements and enable communities to achieve clean air goals sooner. Targeting the financing to projects that reduce both carbon emissions and health-threatening pollutants -- such as smog, soot or air toxics -- will stimulate integrated, cost-effective pollution control strategies. In addition, the Fund will spur technological innovation, encourage public-private partnerships, and leverage substantial non-federal investment in improved air quality. The Fund will be administered by EPA.

Mr. Montgomery added that this action is consistent with ongoing efforts by the AQMD to secure additional funding for AQMD programs. Now-Senator Richard Alarcón had previously met with White House representatives, as well as congressional members, with a proposal regarding the need for additional funding for the South Coast Air Basin. The proposal included a request for $10 million.

Dr. Burke asked how the funds would be distributed. Mr. Montgomery responded that there is no division of the funds yet. He added that they are continuing to meet with White House representatives, as well as congressional members, to ensure money from the Clean Air Partnership Fund is earmarked for the AQMD. Details of the Clean Air Partnership Fund will be available February 1. The division of funds will be shaped by Congress subject to negotiations with EPA. Chair LaPisto-Kirtley clarified that the AQMD originally asked for $10 million and the current budget proposal is $200 million. Mr. Montgomery agreed. The idea was presented and then added to the budget at a $200 million level. This program is in its first stage of development.

Dr. Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer, explained that Board members previously received a copy of the proposal that was presented to White House representatives and congressional members by now-Senator Alarcón. Dr. Wallerstein stated that he would forward another copy of the proposal to Board members, along with a cover memo summarizing the proposal. The proposal not only outlines the clean air benefits but discusses the economic benefits and ability to retain businesses and attract jobs by making more efficient the transfer and utilization of clean technologies. Dr. Wallerstein added that the AQMD's proposal was directed at criteria pollutants and the Clean Air Partnership Fund includes greenhouse gases.

Mr. Montgomery also reported that Senator Diane Feinstein has replaced Senator Barbara Boxer on the VA, HUD and Appropriations Subcommittee. Senator Boxer was an advocate of the AQMD's proposal, so Senator Feinstein is very important. Mr. Montgomery added that he will meet with Senator Feinstein's staff on February 26 and encouraged the AQMD to meet with the Senator's district staff, as well as Mary Nichols, new secretary for the Resources Agency, to explain the proposal. Mr. Montgomery concluded by stating that he intends to meet with Olivia Morgan of Governor Davis' Washington office staff to get the Governor's support for AQMD's proposal.

Sacramento Update

Allan Lind, Legislative Representative in Sacramento, provided an update on activities in Sacramento. Mr. Lind reported that the Legislature is continuing to introduce new legislation. There are approximately 400 bills introduced so far and the deadline for bill introductions is February 26, at which time approximately 2500 bills will be introduced. At the rate that bills pertaining to clean air are already being introduced, approximately
five to ten percent of the total bills introduced may be of concern to the AQMD. Mr. Lind added that legislation addressing topics of interest to the AQMD, such as environmental justice, sensitive populations, children's issues, Smog Check II, as well as preferential use (HOV) lanes have already been introduced. One bill affecting HOV lanes has been analyzed; others will be brought to the Committee at a later date. Supervisor Antonovich asked who the authors are of the other HOV legislation. Mr. Lind responded that Senator Hilda Solis has a bill (SB 63) to authorize an HOV lane on a part of the 10 freeway and Senator Richard Rainey's SB 14 addresess HOV lanes statewide. Senator Rainey is concerned that HOV lanes appear to be ineffective and, at a minimum, should be confined to peak hour commute times.

Mr. Lind briefed the Committee on two legislative proposals approved by the Board in November that have been submitted to Legislative Counsel as proposed bills. Both are on behalf of the Hearing Board. The first bill proposal would enable the Hearing Board to hear certain kinds of trade secret information in closed session. This proposal is considered to be beneficial to petitioners before the Hearing Board to allow them to make the best possible case without divulging trade secret information that would put them at a disadvantage with their competitors. This bill proposal is consistent with other Brown Act exceptions. The second bill proposal would allow petitioners more time to file appeals with the Hearing Board. Mr. Lind added that both bills are petitioner-friendly, although the issue of trade secrets is always a sensitive one. Authors have not yet been secured for these two bill proposals.

Mr. Lind introduced the other members of the Sacramento lobbying team. Subcontractors include Arnold Torres of Torres & Torres; Francisco Leal of Beltran, Leal & Medina; and Michael Corbett of Michael Corbett & Associates. Mr. Torres will act as liaison for issues pertaining to sensitive populations, environmental justice, the Children's Air Quality Agenda, and act as liaison with community based organizations and state health agencies. Mr. Leal will be the liaison with cities in Southern California and legislators in the district offices. Mr. Leal will also attend to constituent issues and monitor matters that affect small business, in particular the Smog Check II program which has an impact on businesses who deliver those services at the customer level. Lastly, Mr. Corbett will serve as liaison on general governance issues, such as the Brown Act, Public Records Act, contracting procedures of local governments, etc. Mr. Corbett also has a rapport with some of the caucuses in the Capitol, as well as with the Department of Finance

Mr. Torres reported that he has reviewed the Children's Air Quality Agenda issued by Chairman Burke and will submit to the Committee suggestions on the most appropriate forum to release this document in terms of making children's concerns a top priority for the AQMD. Possibilities are to request a special legislative hearing or a joint meeting of the AQMD Board and the ARB to discuss ways to work together on this Agenda. Mr. Torres added that it is important to begin educating the Legislature that the AQMD does have this Agenda and that it is consistent with several major pieces of legislation introduced in the past and reintroduced this session.

The Sacramento lobbying team will bring to the Committee in February suggestions on how to link this Agenda to other existing programs, such as the Healthy Start program in schools and the Governor's education agenda.

Mr. Torres explained that the Healthy Start program funds school-based clinics but there isn't enough money for all schools in the basin to have a school-based clinic or a clinic that services them. Mr. Torres added that he has experience with community health centers and nonprofits who have been successful in establishing Healthy Start clinics and can be helpful should the AQMD want to pursue this avenue. Efforts in this area do not have to be legislation, but could be done through the budget process. For example, the AQMD could work with educational interests in the basin to push for an augmentation in the budget to ensure that more schools in the basin are receiving Healthy Start funding. This effort would be consistent with the Children's Air Quality Agenda Action Initiative #5 -- seek federal and state funding for additional lung and asthma testing of children through a mobile unit traveling to schools and sports league sites.

Mr. Torres also expanded on environmental justice issues. According to the average annual emissions summary by major source category, mobile sources are the biggest contributor to pollution in the basin. The biggest polluter is the individual who drives a car yet the environmental justice legislative agenda focuses on institutions in minority communities as the biggest polluters. Efforts should be made to educate motorists on the impacts of mobile source pollution on children. Mr. Torres suggested seeking funds, through the budget process, for a grant program to allow the AQMD to issue grants to community organizations to outreach to communities on the effects of mobile source pollution. This approach would be similar to Proposition 99's outreach and media campaign and the Healthy Families program for children. These programs that deal with healthcare are making an attempt to reach out to the families in the target population to have them change their ways in order to improve their health and the health of their children.

The Sacramento lobbying team will bring forward to the Committee in February an issue paper outlining comparable initiatives that have been done in other health areas that could be the link between what the AQMD is doing and other health-related issues.

Dr. Wallerstein commented that as part of the MATES II monitoring program being conducted by the AQMD, the monitoring includes analyses that will show what contribution comes from mobile sources versus stationary sources in the communities that are being monitored.

Mr. Leal shared that he has worked as an attorney with the U.S. EPA and can provide assistance in understanding EPA's efforts on California's clean air issues, as well as the AQMP. Mr. Leal has also had the opportunity to work with many members of the Southern California legislative delegation on constituent issues. In addition, the firm of Beltran, Leal and Medina has very good relationships with Latino Caucus members and hopes to look to them for their support on AQMD issues.

Lastly, Mr. Corbett briefly explained that he has experience working with counties and stated that he will primarily handle the general government aspects of AQMD's operations. The AQMD is subject to the Brown Act and Public Records Act and other statutes. Mr. Corbett will monitor these issues and provide input on these issues to the AQMD.

Legislative Status Report

Mr. Lind referred the Committee to the attached legislative status report. (Attachment 2)

He reported that there are approximately 15 bills that staff is currently tracking. He added that Chair LaPisto-Kirtley traveled to Sacramento on January 19 and met with Senators Richard Alarcón and Betty Karnette and Assembly Member Roderick Wright.

Informal meetings were also held with Assembly Members Bob Margett and Nell Soto and Senator Richard Polanco. The meetings were a valuable reintroduction of our Clean Fuels Program. Mr. Lind added that the Clean Fuel Reauthorization bills (AB 38, Washington, and SB 98, Alarcón) have not been set for hearing yet. On behalf of the AQMD, a request for notification prior to scheduling the hearings has been made. This was done to ensure that the hearing dates are most advantageous to the AQMD. Mr. Lind added that efforts are continuing to recruit some strategic co-authors to enhance the prospects of getting the Clean Fuels program reauthorized.

Supervisor Wilson asked if there have been any indications on whether there are the necessary votes to pass the bills as urgency measures. Mr. Lind responded that it is difficult to predict that at this time. The politics in the Capitol have changed and it is hard to tell what the dynamics will be. Mr. Lind added that the current membership indicates the possibility of securing the necessary votes. However, if unsuccessful in getting two-thirds vote, the bill can be amended to be a majority-vote bill. The purpose of an urgency measure is to create the opportunity to have a bill pass and signed into law before August 1 of this year to avoid any interruption in the Clean Fuels Program.

Ethnic Community Advisory Group (ECAG) FY 98-99 Program Goals and Committee Objectives

Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta, Co-chair of the ECAG Latino Caucus, briefed the Committee on the goals and objectives of the ECAG. Ms. Verdugo Peralta distributed to Committee members a copy of ECAG's 1999 goals and issues, as well as a list of ECAG committee assignments for 1999. (Attachment 3) Ms. Verdugo-Peralta began by reviewing the work of the ECAG in 1998. The ECAG had ongoing involvement in the effort by the AQMD to improve its procurement and outreach. Many ECAG members have attended Board committee meetings. Ms. Verdugo-Peralta added that in 1998, the ECAG worked as a conduit between the AQMD and the small business arena. Through this effort, ECAG partnered with the North Orange County College District, the Gas Company and Southern California Edison and held an outreach event in North Orange County with 100 businesses. Businesses were also provided with a contact list they could use to do more business with each other, as well as public and private organizations. The ECAG also hosted concerned citizens at their monthly meetings. One example was the coke pile incident in the South Bay area. Concerned citizens brought this to the attention of the ECAG and a reasonable solution was reached. Lastly, the ECAG was involved in Regulation VII and outreach to schools and ECAG member Larry Trujillo was a member of the AQMD's budget subcommittee. Ms. Vergudo-Peralta added that previously the ECAG has worked on the AQMP and on the socioeconomic committees. The ECAG feels it has a lot of information from the communities that they can bring to the AQMD, as well as disseminating information back to the community.

Ms. Verdugo-Peralta briefly reviewed the 1999 goals and issues of the ECAG. The goal of the ECAG is to continue to provide recommendations to AQMD staff and the Governing Board on air quality policy and programs as they relate to, and impact, the ethnic communities. Issues include: influencing procurement policy and RFP notifications; participating in implementation of the 10-point Environmental Justice initiatives, the Children's Air Quality Agenda and the Inland Empire Initiatives; helping the AQMD enhance outreach to various communities; continuing to work on enhancing the episode notification program for schools; assisting in reviewing the 2000 AQMP and other State Implementation Plans; and identifying other socioeconomic issues that impact all communities, especially ethnic communities.

On behalf of ECAG, Ms. Verdugo-Peralta thanked Dr. Wallerstein, Lupe Valdez, La Ronda Bowen and Lourdes Cordova Martinez for their support and added that the ECAG looks forward to continuing to work with the AQMD towards the agenda of clean air.

Dr. Burke inquired of staff what specifically has been done to reach out to some of the organizations like the American Lung Association (ALA) and the Amercian Heart Association (AHA) to get their support for the issues mentioned. Lupe Valdez, DEO/Public Affairs and Transportation Programs, responded that with regard to the Children's Air Quality Agenda, the AQMD has received letters of support from the ALA who want to partner on activities related to the Agenda. Dr. Burke added that he received a letter from the ALA stating that they have not received a copy of the Agenda. Dr. Wallerstein responded that he has been in contact with the ALA, as well as Clean Air Now, and staff is planning to meet with a number of these organizations to plan on how to move forward on their participation in co-sponsorship on some of the events. Dr. Burke added that the letter was from the Orange County ALA. Ms. Verdugo-Peralta added that she has been in contact with the Orange County ALA and the ECAG has been very open to partnering with them. Ms. Valdez added that staff will forward a copy of the Children's Air Quality Agenda to the Orange County ALA.

Recommended Positions on Bills

Staff provided analyses and recommendations on two bills and provided a brief description of each bill. (Attachment 4)

Bill/Title Recommended Position

AB 44 (McClintock) - Preferential Use Lanes OPPOSE unless AMENDED

SB 17 (Figueroa) -- Transit Passes SUPPORT

• AB 44 (McClintock ), abolishes all existing HOV lanes as of January 1, 2000. Requires the Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and local authorities to make specified engineering estimates which include a traffic model study comparing the alternatives of establishing a high-occupancy vehicle lane, establishing a high-occupancy toll lane, as defined, establishing a mixed-flow lane, or not establishing additional lanes. This bill also requires the analysis results and methodology description to be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature. Staff reported that the AQMD has supported Assembly Member McClintock's efforts on studying HOV lanes in terms of effectiveness. However, this bill abolishes the lanes. Supervisor Antonovich recommended a motion to explore eliminating HOV lanes during non-peak driving hours and weekends only. This item was considered by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors and it was recommended that the Department of Public Works study this possibility. The motion was unanimously approved by the Committee. The Legislative Committee concurred with staff's Oppose unless Amended recommendation and requested staff to pursue with the author the option of opening HOV lanes as mixed-flow lanes during non-peak hours and weekends.
  
• SB 17 (Figueroa), reinstates tax credits for employer-subsidized public transit passes.
  Staff reported that SB 17 is identical to AB 1702 in 1998 by then Assembly Member Figueroa. The AQMD supported AB 1702, but the bill failed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The Legislative Committee concurred with staff's Support recommendation.

Other Business/Public Comment

No other business/public comment.

Ethnic Community Advisory Group

Attached for information is the Ethnic Community Advisory Group minutes for the
December 9, 1998, meeting. (Attachment 5)

Attachments

1. Attendance Roster
2. Legislative Status Report
3. ECAG Goals & Objectives and Committee Membership
4. Recommended Positions on Bills
5. Ethnic Community Advisory Group Minutes (December 9, 1998)

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