BOARD MEETING DATE: April 4, 2008
AGENDA NO. 25
REPORT:
Legislative Committee
SYNOPSIS:
The Legislative Committee held its regular meeting on Friday, March 14, 2008. The next Legislative Committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 11, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. in Conference Room CC8. The Committee deliberated on the following items for Board consideration:
Bill/Title Recommended Position Update of A.B. 390 (Montanez) Backup Generators in Health Facilities (Chaptered in 2003) and Discussion of A.B. 2216 (Gaines) Diesel Generators in Health Facilities Watch and report back A.B. 2546 (De La Torre) Railyards Support with amendments A.B. 2865 (De León) Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program Oppose H.R. 5102 (Calvert) “ON TIME” Act of 2007 Support, if amended S.B. 375 (Steinberg) Transportation Planning: Travel Demand Models: Sustainable Communities Strategy: Environmental Review Support with amendments S.B. 1573 (Florez) Smog Check Program: Emission Standards Support Urgency Item - A.B. 2522 (Arambula) San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District Oppose, unless amended Urgency Item - Proposition 1B “Turnback” Legislation Sponsor/Co-sponsor
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive, file this report, and adopt positions on bills and legislative concepts specified in this letter.
Jane W. Carney, Chair
Legislative Committee
Attendance [Attachment 1]
The Legislative Committee met on March 14, 2008. Committee Members Jane Carney (Chair) and Dr. Joseph Lyou were present. Committee Members Jan Perry (Vice Chair), Michael Antonovich, Tonia Reyes Uranga, and Dr. S. Roy Wilson were present via videoconference.
Update on Federal Legislative Issues
Mark Kadesh, AQMD federal legislative consultant, reported on the success of the Board Members’ trip to Washington D.C. First, the Marine Vessel Emissions Reduction Act (MVERA) is moving forward and is garnering national support, including the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA). Second, he noted how each appropriations request the District submitted has been sponsored by a member of Congress.
Dr. Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer, Chair Carney, and Committee Member Dr. Joseph Lyou commended AQMD staff and consultants for their federal legislative efforts.
On March 14, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) announced new emission standards for locomotive and certain marine engines. To summarize the impact of U.S. EPA’s proposed rules, Elaine Chang, Deputy Executive Officer, stated that under the new rule, even if all other emission sources were zeroed out, our region would still exceed the allowable carrying capacity by 2030. Dr. Wallerstein emphasized that our region would not attain federal ozone standards as a result of this federal regulation.
Recommend Position on H.R. 5102 (Calvert)
Peter Greenwald, Senior Policy Advisor, gave the staff presentation. The Committee discussed the possibility of altering the definition of eligible projects to include projects that were not necessarily related to congestion mitigation, but instead approved a requested amendment that projects must be consistent with the SIP. The Committee additionally approved an amendment that would require that there be findings by air quality agencies that the projects eligible for funding help implement the SIP and help avoid significant localized impacts from toxics.
The Legislative Committee voted to support H.R. 5102 if amended. [Refer to Attachment 2 for additional information]
Update on State Legislative Issues
Will Gonzalez, AQMD state legislative consultant, reported changes in Assembly leadership. Assembly Member Ted Lieu replaced Assembly Member Hector De La Torre as chair of the Assembly Rules Committee. Assembly Member Anthony Portantino is no longer the chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee; a new chairman is pending.
More than 1,900 bills were introduced by the February 22, 2008 deadline. More than 1,400 of those bills were introduced in the last three days, and 400 pertain to air quality issues, the majority being spot bills. Staff will continue to track and analyze any bills that move forward. [Refer to Attachment 3 for additional information]
Mr. Gonzalez further updated the Committee about Proposition 1B and the $1 billion Goods Movement Emissions Reduction Program Guidelines adopted during the California Air Resources Board (CARB) hearing on February 22, 2008. San Joaquin Valley aggressively proposed to reduce CARB’s recommended allocation for the Los Angeles/Inland Empire/Orange County transportation corridor from 55% to 41%; thereby, raising San Joaquin Valley’s share to 37%. With the support of 36 bipartisan legislators and environmental/health groups plus statistics based upon our region’s population and exposure to pollution, AQMD staff and consultants successfully overturned San Joaquin Valley’s proposal during the hearing. CARB upheld its staff recommended 55% allocation for the Los Angeles/Inland Empire/Orange County region. Dr. Wallerstein commended Board Member Reyes Uranga for her testimony, and staff and consultants for the outstanding work done in this context.
Recommend Position on State Bills [Refer to Attachment 4 for additional information]:
A.B. 2546
Zorik Pirveysian, Planning & Rules Manager, summarized staff’s analysis of A.B. 2546. The Committee discussed the term “feasible” in the bill’s language versus “technologically achievable.” Barbara Baird, Principal Deputy District Counsel, interpreted the term “feasible” as per California Environmental Protection Act (CEQA), while “technologically achievable” under CEQA means “capable of being accomplished in a reasonable period of time considering economic, legal, social and technological factors.” Dr. Wallerstein pointed out that California legislature generally favors a “feasible” term. The Legislative Committee voted to support A.B. 2546 with amendments according to staff recommendations.
A.B. 2865
Fred Minassian, Technology Implementation Manager, briefed the Committee on A.B. 2865. Dr. Lyou commented on the need for a “watch” position and Dr. Wallerstein requested the Committee to take a position since AQMD needs to take action if the Governing Board disagrees with the impact of the bill which is likely to reduce funding to Southern California. The Legislative Committee voted to oppose A.B. 2865 based upon staff recommendations.
S.B. 375
Susan Nakamura, Planning & Rules Manager, presented S.B. 375. The Legislative Committee voted to support S.B. 375 with amendments and directed staff to work with the author, consistent with staff recommendations.
S.B. 1573
Henry Hogo, Assistant Deputy Executive Officer, reviewed the impacts of S.B. 1573 with the Committee. The Legislative Committee voted to support S.B. 1573 based upon staff recommendations.
Update on A.B. 390 (Montanez) [Refer to Attachment 5 for additional information]
Because A.B. 390 (chaptered in 2003) was brought up in the prior Friday’s Board Meeting, Ms. Nakamura updated the Committee on that legislation. That bill amended Health & Safety Code Section 41514.1 when dealing with guidelines for testing diesel backup generators and required a health facility to test its diesel backup generators once per week. This provision would sunset on January 1, 2009. In the current legislative session, A.B. 2216 (Gaines) currently proposes to extend the sunset provision to 2011 and to reduce testing from once per week to once per month. The Legislative Committee directed staff to watch and report back on A.B. 2216 at the next Committee meeting.
Urgency Items: A.B. 2522 and Proposition 1B Potential “Turnback” Legislation:
Two items were added to the Legislative Committee’s March 14, 2008 agenda as urgency items, because the need for action was brought to staff’s attention after the posting of the agenda. Action is needed prior to the next Board meeting. The Legislative Committee voted to approve adding the urgency items to the agenda.
Urgency Item 1 - A.B. 2522
Chung Liu, Deputy Executive Officer, reported that A.B. 2522 authorizes the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to levy an additional $30.00 on motor vehicle registration fees. A.B. 2522 further requires the San Joaquin Valley District to provide an assessment to the Legislature by January 1, 2010 concerning the levying of vehicle fees on vehicles not registered in their district, but that travel through it. The concern with this provision is that it could make vehicle registration fees from South Coast and other air districts accessible to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
Dr. Wallerstein recommended opposing this bill, because:
- If an assessment is to be made it should be by a neutral third party.
- AQMD still has the worst pollution, and needs to retain all funding available for emissions reductions.
- San Joaquin Valley should do more with its stationary sources to reduce emissions.
The Legislative Committee voted to oppose, unless amended, the provision within A.B. 2522 pertaining to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District study of vehicle registration fees for vehicles traveling through the district. [Refer to Attachment 6 for additional information on this item]
Urgency Item 2 - Proposition 1B
Regarding Proposition 1B, Dr. Liu explained the term “turning back funds”--when a grantee withdraws their project and the money returns to the state treasury. Dr. Wallerstein recommended staff to cosponsor a bill with other air districts to support the return of such funds to other air quality projects instead of to the state treasury. It was noted that May 30, 2008 is the deadline to move newly introduced bills out of their house of origin. The Legislative Committee voted to adopt staff’s recommendation to sponsor or co-sponsor legislation regarding “turnback” funds from Proposition 1B.
Public Comment
None
AQMD Home Rule Advisory Group Committee Legislative Report [Attachment 7]
Please refer to Attachment 7 for a written report.
Attachments (exe 775 kb)
- Attendance Roster
- AQMD Legislative Analysis Summary & Bill Language - H.R. 5102
- AQMD 2007 – 2008 Legislative Bills of Interest
- AQMD Legislative Analysis Summary & Bill Language: A.B. 2546, A.B. 2865, S.B. 375, S.B. 1573
- AQMD Legislative Analysis Summary & Bill Language - A.B. 390
- A.B. 2522 Bill Language
- Legislative Report from AQMD Home Rule Advisory Group