BOARD MEETING DATE: September 8, 2006
AGENDA NO. 30

Legislative Committee

SYNOPSIS:

The Legislative Committee held a special meeting on Friday, July 28, 2006 to discuss the issuance of RFPs for Legislative Representation in Sacramento, California and Washington, D.C.  SB 1205 (Escutia) was also discussed.  The next Legislative Committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 15, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. in Conference Room CC8.

Bill/Title	Recommended Position
SB 1205 (Escutia) Air Pollution: Children’s Breathing Rights Act: Penalties	Oppose*
SB 1494 (McClintock) Top Priority: Transportation Projects	Oppose**

*The Executive Officer was granted authority by the committee, to change AQMD’s current position of Oppose, to Support if all of AQMD’s concerns with this bill are met.

**Continued from the July 14, 2006 Special Governing Board meeting by operation of procedure.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Receive and file this report and adopt positions on bills specified in this letter.

Jane Carney, Chair
Legislative Committee

Attendance [Attachment 1]

The Legislative Committee met on July 28, 2006.  Present was Committee Chair Jane Carney.  Present, by videoconference, were Committee Members Roy Wilson, Michael Antonovich and Jan Perry.

Legislative Update

SB 1205 (Escutia) – Air Pollution: Children’s Breathing Rights Act: Penalties
District Prosecutor Peter Mieras reported that staff has been in negotiations with Senator Escutia in amending the current version of SB 1205. 

The following are staff’s concerns and responses from the author, with the current version of SB 1205:

1. The bill includes a new penalty provision that would penalize violators in an amount up to $100,000 a day, even for minor violations.  The author has agreed to drop this provision and substitute in its place enhancements to strict liability penalties, and public nuisance penalties.
    
2. The bill includes a reporting requirement which staff felt overlapped with what is currently reported to U.S. EPA and CARB and is available to the public.  The author has agreed that it would be good for the public if local districts worked with CARB to create a user-friendly searchable database that could be narrowed down to enforcement information.
    
3. The bill would require 10% of penalties and settlements to be deposited into the Children’s Breathing Rights Fund.  The author has agreed to insert language regarding civil penalties and how they support the enforcement programs which protect public health.  The intent language would reflect that the legislature understands the importance of civil penalties and would not sanction the use or diversion of those penalty monies in the way they are sanctioning criminal penalties. 

Mr. Mieras believes that there is a possibility that AQMD’s concerns may be addressed within the next week and recommends that AQMD keep its current position of oppose, until the bill is amended to fully address staff’s concerns. 

Mr. Mieras said that staff recommends that the committee delegate to the Executive Officer, the authority to change AQMD’s position from Oppose, to Support, if all of staff’s concerns are met.  The Legislative Committee unanimously adopted staff’s recommendation to delegate to the Executive Officer, the authority to change AQMD’s position of Oppose, to Support, if all of AQMD’s concerns are met.

Issue RFP for Legislative Representation in Sacramento, California
Pom Pom Ganguli, Assistant Deputy Executive Officer, reported that pursuant to discussions at the July 14, 2006 Administrative Committee, staff has revised the RFP as follows:

1. The total amount of the contract will be reduced from $441,708 in FY 2005-06 to $339,000 for FY 2006-07,
    
2. The proposal will be for one contractor.  The firm selected will be able to subcontract with others under its own “umbrella” as needed with AQMD approval,
    
3. The 2007 legislative priorities have been included (Dr. Ganguli briefly went over each priority).

The RFP will be on the agenda for issuance at the September Board meeting, with responses due in October.  The candidates will be brought back to the Legislative Committee in October for further selection and the item will proceed to the Board for vote on final approval in November. 

Dr. Wallerstein, Executive Officer, said that he has calls to the Sacramento Metropolitan and Bay Area Districts regarding the possibility of sharing costs.

The Legislative Committee unanimously adopted staff’s recommendation to issue an RFP for Legislative Representation in Sacramento, California.

[Refer to September 8, 2006 Board Agenda Item #17 for additional information on this item.]

Issue RFP for Legislative Representation in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Ganguli reported that this item is to issue an RFP for legislative representation in Washington, D.C., similar to the one issued in previous years, with the exception that there is a provision in the RFP to share costs with other air agencies.  Also included in the RFP are the 2007 federal legislative priorities. 

Dr. Roy Wilson said that there is a need for specialized services from either a lobbying or advocacy firm with a high level of expertise in alternative fuels and technology advancement that will be able to assist AQMD in obtaining funding.  He suggested that if a specialized firm cannot be found, all four counties be contacted to see if they have lobbying firms, for possible cost-sharing.

Ms. Carney said that she was interested in cost sharing since there are other groups with similar interests.  She said that in the past AQMD and other groups were receiving the same general information and it is more efficient to share the cost, and not have all the agencies paying for the same general information. 

The Legislative Committee unanimously adopted staff’s recommendation to issue an RFP for Legislative Representation in Sacramento, California.

[Refer to September 8, 2006 Board Agenda Item #18 for additional information on this item.]

Public Comment

None.

Attachment (DOC 29kb)
Attendance Roster