California Air Resources Board

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. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources 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 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 establish, until January 1, 2028, a Just Transition Advisory Commission in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and requires the commission, through a public process, to develop and adopt a Transition Plan that contains recommendations to transition the state’s economy to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy that maximizes the benefits of climate actions while minimizing burdens to workers, especially workers in the fossil fuel industry, and their communities, especially those that face disproportionate burdens from pollution. Held on suspense in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

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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 have prohibited a local air district that contains a Community Air Protection Program per AB 617 (C. García, Chapter 136, Statutes of 2017) from authorizing a new major source of emissions, or revisions to an existing source of emissions, that would have increased toxic air contaminants and criteria air pollutants above the levels included in the Community Emissions Reduction Program for that community, unless the local air district required the major source to mitigate the increased emissions directly in the affected communities.  Hearing canceled in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee at author’s request.

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