California Air Resources Board

Summary

Triples specified civil penalties, such as for strict liability, negligence, and willful and intentional violations, under the following conditions:  (1) the discharge is from a source regulated under Title V of the federal Clean Air Act, and (2) the discharge contains one or more air contaminants, as identified by CARB as a toxic air contaminant, and as defined as a “air contaminant” or “air pollutant,” or a pollutant that has a California ambient air quality standard, as specified. The bill directs the court or the local air district when assessing penalties to consider health impacts, community disruptions, and other circumstances related to the violation. Moved to the Senate Inactive File.

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Summary

Would have required a nonvehicular civil penalty in an amount over $10,000 for a nonvehicular violation in a disadvantaged community collected by a specified local air district, minus the cost of prosecution and district administration, investigation, attorney fees, and other reasonable district costs, to be used to mitigate the effect of air pollution in the community affected by the violation. The bill would have modestly raised the maximum amount of nonvehicular civil penalties regarding strict liability and negligence listed in statute. Moved to the Senate Inactive File.

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Summary

Would have required CARB to undertake specified interventions if the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) remains in nonattainment for a national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). These interventions would have included developing a program, rules, or regulations that CARB deems necessary for SJVAPCD to attain NAAQS after a public hearing on CARB’s review of the SJVAPCD attainment plan, rules, regulations, programs, and enforcement practices. This bill also would have required CARB to coordinate with SJVAPCD to provide additional monitoring and enforcement for stationary sources and conduct outreach to under-resourced communities.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 2550 without my signature.

This bill requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to intervene and undertake specified activities if the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District does not attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

My Administration is committed to ensuring that the San Joaquin Valley is on a path to attainment of the NAAQS. Statute already allows CARB to reject a local air district's State Implementation Plan element if CARB finds, after a public hearing, that it does not meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act, including if the plan will not provide attainment by the deadline. As such, this bill is unnecessary.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

View Governor’s veto message here

Summary

Would have required a civil penalty of up to $30,000 to apply to a violation of public nuisance law involving a discharge containing toxic air contaminants from a Title V source. Additionally, the discharge must result in a significant increase in hospitalizations, residential displacement, shelter in place, evacuation, or destruction of property. The bill would have required this proposed penalty to apply on the initial date of violation, with exceptions for certain penalties with larger penalty caps. If a violation of AB 1897’s public nuisance law continues to occur after the initial day, then the bill would have required the existing fee structure for non-vehicular civil penalties, such as up to $10,000 per day, to apply on those subsequent days. The bill would have required additional civil penalties collected by a local air district for such a penalty, above the costs of prosecution, to be expended to mitigate the effects of air pollution in communities affected by the violation. Was amended to deal with plastic food service ware.

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Summary

Expands the set of violations that can cause port drayage contractors to be placed on a Division of Labor Standards Enforcement list that extends joint liability for future violations to customers of that contractor. This legislation relates to the implementation of AB 794 (Chapter 748, Statutes of 2021) as violators named in this bill would be ineligible for CARB incentive programs named in AB 794.

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Summary

Would change retention rules surrounding information captured by automatic license plate readers (ALPR).  Current law authorizes the Department of the California Highway Patrol to retain license plate data captured by license plate reader technology for not more than 60 days unless the data is being used as evidence, or for the investigation of felonies. This data can be shared with law enforcement agencies and requires both an ALPR operator and an ALPR end-user, as those terms are defined, to implement a usage and privacy policy regarding that ALPR information. This bill would require, if the ALPR operator or ALPR end-user is a public agency and not an airport authority, ALPR data be destroyed within 24 hours if it does not match a hot list. Held on suspense in Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required State agencies to establish a policy, by January 1, 2023, that provides for the reduction or waiver of civil penalties for violations of regulatory or statutory requirements by a small business under certain circumstances, as specified in the bill. The bill would have also required State agencies to post an annual report on their website concerning application of the policy and specifies notice requirements concerning the policy and annual report. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Reconstitutes the Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team, which sunset January 1, 2020, and is comprised of several State agencies, including CARB and California Environmental Protection Agency. The bill requires the Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team to submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2024, that includes: the number of unlicensed dismantlers investigated and the number of investigations that resulted in enforcement actions, including theft of catalytic converters; the number of locations used for unlicensed automobile dismantling and the number of actions taken; compliance progress; and any statutory, administrative, or regulatory gaps that exist. Senate Bill 366 sunsets the Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team on January 1, 2025. Additionally, the bill changes the fine structure for violations by unlicensed vehicle dismantlers.

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Summary

Would have created a registration and identification program for off-highway vehicles (OHVs) that are model year 2022 and newer and used in competition. The bill would have imposed fees for the issuance or renewal of OHV competition identification. Beginning January 1, 2023, the bill would have required competition OHVs to display its assigned identification number in a specific location and to have a muffler and spark arrestor when operating on public lands. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have provided an income tax credit for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2021 and before January 1, 2026, to individuals and small businesses for the purchase of a backup generator for use in a residential or commercial property in a designated wildfire zone.  The bill would have limited the tax credit to 50 percent of the total cost incurred by the customer, not to exceed $7,000.  Was not heard in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

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