BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1387
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1387 (De León, et al.)
As Amended August 19, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 22-13
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Natural |6-2 |Williams, Cristina |Hadley, Harper |
|Resources | |Garcia, Gomez, | |
| | |McCarty, Mark Stone, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |11-4 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Jones, Obernolte |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, Wood, | |
| | |McCarty | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 1387
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SUMMARY: Adds three members to the South Coast Air Quality
Management District (SCAQMD) Governing Board, as specified,
until 2025. Specifically, this bill:
1) Expands the SCAQMD Governing board by three to increase the
membership to 16, with the additional members appointed by
the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker
of the Assembly.
2) Requires the above appointees to reside in and work directly
with communities in the South Coast Air Basin that are
disproportionately burdened by and vulnerable to high levels
of pollution and issues of environmental justice, including,
but not limited to, communities with diverse racial and
ethnic populations and communities with low-income
populations. Require the appointing authority to accept an
application from, and give appropriate consideration to
appointing, a member of a city council or county board of
supervisors who meets the above criteria.
3)Sunsets the provision adding three board members January 1,
2025.
4)Prohibits a member of the SCAQMD board who is eligible for a
vehicle or vehicle allowance from the local government from
which he or she is appointed from being issued a vehicle from
the SCAQMD for greater than seven days in a 30-day period.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides ARB with primary responsibility for control of mobile
source air pollution and provides that air pollution control
districts (APCDs) and air quality management districts (AQMDs)
have primary responsibility for controlling air pollution from
all sources, other than emissions from mobile sources, and
establishes certain powers, duties, and requirements for those
districts.
SB 1387
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2)Creates certain AQMDs, with related authority, including the
SCAQMD under the Lewis-Presley Air Quality Management Act.
SCAQMD covers portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and
San Bernardino counties within the South Coast Air Basin.
3)Establishes the SCAQMD Governing Board, and specifies the
Board consist of 13 members, where one member each is
appointed by the Governor, Senate Rules Committee, and the
Speaker of the Assembly, and the other 10 members are
appointed by regional government entities in the South Coast
Air Basin, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: The SCAQMD board is made up of 13 members, where
three are appointed by the state (one each by the Senate Rules
Committee, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Governor) and 10
are appointed by local governments. The members of the board
serve four-year terms. Currently, Dr. William Burke, appointed
by the Speaker of the Assembly, serves as the Chairman of the
SCAQMD Board.
Under the federal Clean Air Act, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (US EPA) establishes National Ambient Air
Quality Standards that apply for outdoor air throughout the
country. These federal standards exist for several air
pollutants due to their negative impact on public health above
specified concentrations, including ozone and particulate
matter, among others. Nonattainment areas are regions that do
not meet the national ambient air quality standard for one of
those pollutants.
SB 1387
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The South Coast Air Basin has some of the worst air quality in
the nation, and is in serious nonattainment for particulate
matter (<2.5 microns, or PM 2.5) and extreme nonattainment for
ozone. As a result of its nonattainment status, state law
requires the district to adopt an Air Quality Management Plan
(AQMP) to achieve and maintain the state and federal ambient air
quality standards and submit this plan to the ARB for inclusion
into the state implementation plan (SIP). The AQMP was
originally adopted in 1982, and is formally reviewed every two
years.
According to the author, SCAQMD is one of the leading voices for
clean air and climate pollution reductions in the southern
California region. In the past six months, with its recent
changes in governance, it has voted to dismiss its longstanding
executive officer and weaken clean air regulations over its
expert staff's recommendations. Outside parties have worked to
reduce diversity on the board and to install a majority that is
more concerned with polluters than with public health. This
bill seeks to modernize the membership of the governing board.
Analysis Prepared by:
Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN:
0004579
SB 1387
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