California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have prohibited, notwithstanding any other law, State funds or personnel time from being used to fund or permit freeway widening projects in areas with high rates of pollution and poverty. Failed passage in the Senate Transportation 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

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 continuously appropriated to CARB beginning in the 2023–24 fiscal year, 20 percent of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, up to $600,000,000, for allocation to local air districts for the purpose of supporting community emissions reduction strategies in, and reimbursement for participation by, communities selected by CARB, as specified. The bill was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Summary

Would have required State agencies administering competitive Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) grant programs to give preferential points for specified populations and provide an application period of at least three months. The bill would have also required State agencies that administer competitive grant programs involving housing, forestry, urban greening, or planning to develop application scoring categories to account for differences among urban, suburban, and rural communities during the application review process. In addition, the bill would have added eight additional co-benefits for GGRF‑funded projects and required the California Department of Finance to report on additional elements of GGRF grants in the California Climate Investments Annual Report, including information on applications that did not receive funding. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would direct the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to adopt a new net energy metering (NEM) standard contract or tariff, which the bill would define as the "replacement tariff," by August 1, 2022, and would require an electrical investor-owned utility to offer the replacement tariff to an eligible customer-generator by December 31, 2023. If CPUC fails to act, CPUC would be required to adopt a new tariff under prescribed terms. Failed passage with reconsideration granted and moved to the Assembly Inactive File.

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Summary

Would create the Environmental Justice Community Resilience Hubs Program (Program), and would fund the Program by redirecting 5 percent of electrical corporation allocated allowance auction proceeds received under the Cap-and-Trade Program from annual climate credits that are currently provided to residential ratepayers. The Program would fund competitive grants run by electrical corporations and administered by a third-party administrator for owners of critical community institutions for building upgrade projects. Made a 2-Year bill in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would add two environmental justice members, one appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, to the South Coast Air Quality Management Board (AQMD). The bill would also authorize South Coast AQMD Board to create a Labor Advisory Panel composed of six representatives whose members perform work in the South Coast Air Basin. The bill would require the Labor Advisory Panel to provide feedback and input on all district permitting, rules, regulations, and planning issues that have the potential to impact the workforce in the South Coast Air Basin. The bill would require the South Coast AQMD Board to select the members of the Labor Advisory Panel from nominations provided by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the Inland Empire Labor Council, and the Orange County Labor Federation. Moved to Senate Inactive File.

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Summary

Would require a State agency that receives and disburses funds provided under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act or other federal recovery funds to consider projects’ potential impact on specified goals, including restoring frontline communities and rapidly accelerating achievement of environmental justice and climate goals, as well as uplifting vulnerable workers by prioritizing high road employers. The bill would require State agencies to document how proposed projects meet or align with the specified goals and requires the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to establish an internet website where the public can track the expenditure of federal ARP funds by the State and how funded projects meet the specified goals. Was not heard in Senate Governmental Organization Committee.

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