California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have required CARB, air districts, and other specified agencies to complete an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) or alternative environmental analysis, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and as specified, for every rule or regulation adopted that requires emission reductions of greenhouse gases (GHG), criteria air pollutants, or toxic air contaminants (TAC), or compliance with a performance standard or treatment requirement that requires emission reductions of GHGs, criteria air pollutants, or TACs. This bill also would have added extensive labor requirements if a focused EIR was used for the installation of pollution control equipment projects to reduce TACs, criteria pollutants, or GHGs that was undertaken to comply with the any of the regulations specified above.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate: 

I am returning Senate Bill 1136 without my signature.

This bill expands the environmental review process for California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations that require the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria air pollutants, or toxic air contaminants.

I share the author's goal in seeking ways to streamline and accelerate critical projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, this bill restricts CARB from using standard California Environmental Quality Act streamlining tools for environmentally beneficial regulations.

In addition, this bill would create significant delays in the promulgation of environmentally beneficial regulations. This bill also exposes state and local public agencies to new litigation risks and results in millions of dollars in costs not accounted for in the budget.

With our state facing lower-than-expected revenues over the first few months of this fiscal year, it is important to remain disciplined when it comes to spending, particularly spending that is ongoing. We must prioritize existing obligations and priorities, including education, health care, public safety and safety-net programs.

The Legislature sent measures with potential costs of well over $20 billion in one-time spending commitments and more than $10 billion in ongoing commitments not accounted for in the state budget. For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Summary

Would have imposed specified existing public school prohibitions and requirements, which are related to environmental conditions that must be considered before selecting a school site, on the selection of private and charter school sites. Held on suspense in Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Requires air districts with a population over 1,000,000 to post all criteria pollution and toxic air contaminant permits on their websites, requires air districts’ annual AB 617  (Cristina García, Chapter 136, Statutes of 2017) report to describe how existing Community Emissions Reduction Programs (CERP) have been updated to align with the most current AB 617 Blueprint, allows an extra year for CERP development if air districts, CARB, and  majority of the persons who are designated by the district to participate in the development and adoption of the CERP agree to the extension, and codifies in statute that the Blueprint is the name of the AB 617 statewide strategy.

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Summary

Would have required, for projects in a disadvantaged community, that air quality mitigation measures identified in an environmental impact report or mitigated negative declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) mitigate air quality impacts directly in the disadvantaged community. Was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Summary 

Would have required CARB to annually produce an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation of oil in California, as specified, and to include the assessment on CARB's website. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary 

As related to CARB, would have required the newly formed Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) Office of Freight, in consultation with specified State agencies, to submit to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2024 an assessment of statewide economic growth, competitiveness, prosperity, resiliency, and sustainability for the State’s ports and freight sector, and update the assessment at least once every five years thereafter. In the consultation process, CARB would have met with specified State agencies as necessary to address and discuss ongoing freight and supply chain issues. The bill would have also required the assessment to include, among other things, the analysis of how the economic competitiveness for businesses and the freight sector can be supported under State and federal climate and air pollution policies, and the identification of challenges the California freight sector faces in meeting the State’s emission reduction goals, including the quantification of the costs and recommended strategies. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have added pollutants from the Salton Sea as air toxic and criteria air pollutants from stationary and mobile sources as funding priorities for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. In addition, the bill would have deposited moneys, if appropriated, from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund into the Salton Sea Restoration Fund. Was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Summary

Spot bill related to the Transformative Climate Communities Program, which receives funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Amended to deal with property tax.

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Summary

Authorizes transit agencies to continuously use Low Carbon Transit Operation Program (LCTOP) dollars to fund a free or reduced fare transit projects without having to demonstrate specified statutory requirements like greenhouse (GHG) reductions in annual allocation requests. Instead of annual reporting in allocation requests, the bill requires transit agencies, in using LCTOP funds for transit pass programs, to submit (1) an allocation request for funding for transit passes every three years after the initial allocation request to the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and (2) necessary GHG and priority population (disadvantaged and low-income communities) documentation annually to Caltrans in years where an allocation request is not required.

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Summary

Would have eliminated the 25 percent Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund continuous appropriation to the High-Speed Rail Authority on June 30, 2022 and instead annually transfer the amount to the Salton Sea Restoration Fund beginning 2022–23 fiscal year. Was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. 

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