California Air Resources Board

Summary

Requires a covered school, and requests the University of California (UC), to ensure that facilities have heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems that meet minimum ventilation rate requirements and to install filtration that achieves levels of 13 or higher for minimum efficiency reporting values. The bill requires the California Building Standards Commission and the Division of the State Architect to propose for adoption mandatory standards for carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms of a covered school and UC.

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Summary

Authorizes the City of Needles to establish a pilot project to designate combined-use highways on roads in the city to link existing off-highway vehicle trails and to link off-highway vehicle recreational use areas with necessary service and lodging facilities.

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Summary

Would have exempted portable generators with engine power greater than or equal to 2 horsepower from an existing provision requiring CARB to adopt cost-effective and technologically feasible regulations to prohibit engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines produced on or after a specified date. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB to assess the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District’s air quality progress every three years, instead of every 2 years, and submit these assessments to the Legislature within 3 weeks of completion, instead of within 2 weeks. Was amended to deal with the developmental services system.

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Summary

Would have prohibited, among other things, a homeowner’s association from imposing a monetary penalty or seeking other enforcement action in relation to a member’s landscaping on a separate interest during a declared state of emergency or on days when air quality is unhealthy, as defined. Was amended to deal with the right to assemble and communicate by common interest development members and the leasing of property.

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Summary

Would have required an owner or operator of a natural gas plant to develop, install, operate, and maintain, in accordance with guidance developed by the appropriate local air district, a fence-line monitoring system to measure and record methane concentrations at or adjacent to a natural gas plant. The bill would have required the local air district and the owner or operator of a natural gas plant to collect real-time data from these fence-line monitoring systems, provide that data to the public, and maintain records of that data. The bill would have required an owner or operator of a natural gas plant to report methane concentrations readings that exceed background levels to the local air district and requires the local air district to report those readings to Members of the Legislature representing the district in which the natural gas plant is located. The bill would have required the owner or operator of a natural gas plant to be responsible for the costs associated with the fence-line monitoring system. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, not later than January 1, 2025, to provide a report relating to indoor air quality to the Legislature, as specified. Moved to the Senate Inactive File.

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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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