California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would require, among other things, a State body that elects to conduct a meeting by teleconference to make the portion that is required to be open to the public both audibly and visually observable. The bill would require a State body that elects to conduct a meeting by teleconference to post an agenda at the designated primary physical meeting location in the notice of the meeting where members of the public may physically attend the meeting and participate. The bill would remove the requirement that each teleconference location be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting, and each teleconference location be accessible to the public. Was not heard in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.

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Summary

Would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to promote environmental justice by ensuring that disadvantaged communities, often low-income communities of color, do not continue to be overburdened with unfair shares of pollution. Was not heard by the Senate Rules Committee.

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Summary

Would require CARB to appoint, on or before January 31, 2022, the State-Regional Collaborative for Climate, Equity, and Resilience, consisting of representatives of various entities. Would require the Collaborative to develop a quantitative tool for metropolitan planning organizations to use to evaluate a transportation plan’s consistency with long-range greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and recommend guidelines for metropolitan planning organizations to use when crafting long-range strategies that integrate state goals related to climate resilience and social equity. Would require CARB, on or before June 30, 2023, and in coordination with the California Transportation Commission (CTC) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), issue new guidelines on sustainable communities strategies based on the Collaborative’s work and requires these guidelines to be updated thereafter at least every 4 years. Would require CARB, in consultation with CTC and HCD, identify greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2050 that align with the Collaborative’s work. Was not heard in the Senate Transportation Committee.

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Summary

Would require CARB to adopt additional greenhouse gas targets for 2045 and 2050, and vehicle miles traveled targets for 2035, 2045, 2050, by 2024; would modify the timeline for Sustainable Community Strategies (SCS) development; and would require CARB to reject SCSs if they are not implementable based on specific evidentiary basis.  Would require local governments to collect data on housing, jobs, and transit infrastructure and report every two years to metropolitan planning organizations to demonstrate how SCS strategies are implemented, using the data described above. Was not heard in the Senate Transportation Committee.

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Summary

Would contain statutory provisions necessary to implement the Budget Act of 2021. Related to CARB, would establish the Regional Early Action Planning Grants Program of 2021, developed and administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), in collaboration with the Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), and CARB to provide regions with funding, including grants. Eligible activities for transformative planning and implementation would include administering specified programs, providing jurisdictions and other local agencies with technical assistance, planning, temporary staffing, or consultant needs associated with updating local planning and zoning documents, accelerating infill development, planning and upgrading infrastructure, creating multimodal transportation communities, shifting travel behavior through reducing driving, and increasing transit ridership, each as specified. HCD, in collaboration with COPR, SGC and CARB would review applications, and HCD would award funds, as specified.  Was not heard in the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.

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Summary

Would establish an Office of Racial Equity to be administered by a Racial Equity Advisory and Accountability Council. Would require all State agencies develop and implement a Racial Equity Action Plan (Plan) that aligns with the Racial Equity Framework and will be updated every three years. Each Plan would include goals, strategies, and plans to achieve equity within the agency and for services provided to the public, and metrics to measure current conditions and outcomes, as specified. Each agency would prepare an annual report on its progress with data documentation. Was not heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would authorize expedited CEQA review for student housing projects if the project meets specified environmental and affordable housing requirements, including being located within two miles of campus; at least 15 percent extremely low, very low, or low-income households, and certified LEED Gold for construction. Was not heard in the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

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Summary

Would require the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to develop and administer the Green Means Go Grant and Loan Program to award competitive grants and revolving loans to cities, counties, and special districts within the Sacramento region for qualifying projects within and benefitting green zones, as defined. Was not heard by the Assembly Committee on Transportation.

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Summary

Would require air districts that have a nonattainment area for one or more air pollutants to adopt an expedited schedule for the implementation of best available control technology, expands best available control retrofit technology (BARCT) requirements in those air districts to other industrial sources beside those that participate in CARB’s Cap-and Trade program, and prohibits industrial sources that fail to implement BARCT by December 31, 2023 from participating in the Cap and Trade program. Was not heard in the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

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Summary

Would expand the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act, known as the AB 900 program, to include specified hospital projects and requires CARB to complete a greenhouse gas emission determination as one of the requirements needed to obtain the Governor’s certification, which grants the project expedited California Environmental Quality Act review. Was not heard in the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

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