California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have established the Office of Regulatory Counsel in the Governor’s Office under the direction and control of an executive officer. The bill would have required the Office of Regulatory Counsel to draft and assist in the preparation, consideration, amendment, and repeal of regulations for a State agency, before the State agency submits a proposed action regarding that regulation to the Office of Administrative Law for publication in the California Regulatory Notice Register. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Adds an additional unusual circumstance under which the initial response time to a public records request may be extended during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor in the jurisdiction where the agency is located. This circumstance applies when the state of emergency currently affects, due to the state of emergency, the agency’s ability to provide a timely response to requests due to staffing shortages or closure of facilities where the request records are located, and specifies that this provision only applies to records not created during and applying to the state of emergency.

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Summary

Would have authorized the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to jointly adopt a commute benefit ordinance that requires covered employers operating within the common area of the BAAQMD and MTC respective jurisdictions to offer all covered employees one of the following choices: (1) A pretax option, (2) Employer-paid benefit, (3) Employer-provided transit, or (4) Employer-provided regional transit pass. The bill would have authorized MTC to propose new taxes, allocate new revenue, and issue bonds for specified transportation projects, among other things. Remains at the Assembly Desk.

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Summary

Would have requested the Regents of the University of California to conduct a pilot project in the County of Imperial and the Coachella Valley to develop a three-day wintertime regional dust forecast capability and a dust storm early warning system for the monsoon season. The bill would have repealed the provisions on January 1, 2030. Was held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have established the Wildfire Smoke and Health Outcomes Data Act, which would have required the Department of Public Health, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, to create, operate, and maintain a statewide integrated wildfire smoke and health data platform no later than July 1, 2026. The data platform would have, among other things, integrated wildfire smoke and health data from multiple databases with the purpose of providing adequate information to understand the negative health impacts on California’s population caused by wildfire smoke and evaluating the effectiveness of investments in forest health and wildfire mitigation on health outcomes in California. Was held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have prohibited, beginning January 1, 2032, a person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale a product that contains intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) unless the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has made a determination that the use of PFAS in the product was a currently unavoidable use, the prohibition is preempted by federal law, or the product was previously used. The bill would have required DTSC to maintain on its website a list of each determination of currently unavoidable use, when each determination expires, and the products and uses that are exempt from the prohibition. The bill would have imposed an administrative penalty for a violation of the prohibition. The bill would have required DTSC, by January 1, 2027, to adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of the bill. Was held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have updated the statewide refinery-related fence-line and community air monitoring program established by AB 1647 (Muratsuchi, Chapter 589, Statutes of 2017). The bill would have established statewide standards for the air monitoring program, including monitoring system capabilities, pollutants requiring monitoring, air quality control and assurance plans, third party audits, and data reporting. The bill also would have extended the air monitoring program deadline from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2028, for updating or installing new air monitoring systems required by the bill. The bill would also have specified the type of refineries that are subject to the program, including biofuel refineries.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 674 without my signature.

This bill would make several changes to the refinery fence-line air monitoring program, including expanding the program to include monitoring for biofuel refineries and additional pollutants, applying the program to contiguous or adjacent refinery-related facilities, increasing the standards for data quality, and providing new processes for notifying local communities.

California has some of the most stringent refinery air monitoring and pollution standards in the world. These standards have been developed and implemented by the state's local air quality management districts, and each of these districts possess the authority and technical expertise to update, expand and modify these standards according to the best available science.

While I share the author's desire to protect communities from air pollution, local air quality management districts are already carrying out the necessary action to do just that. Additionally, because this bill mandates these districts to implement highly prescriptive measures, it might be found to require state reimbursement of implementation costs at a time when we just recently closed a $44.9 billion shortfall for the 2024-25 fiscal year. There is no state funding identified or available in the state budget to support these efforts.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Summary

Authorizes a State agency administering a grant program to provide advanced payment of up to 25% to a federally recognized Indian tribe recipient under nearly the same conditions afforded 501(c)(3) nonprofits. The bill allows CARB to authorize advance payment from contract recipients and grant recipients to subrecipients.

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Summary

Requires a local air district whose jurisdiction includes a metal shredding facility, in consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), to develop by January 1, 2027, requirements for facility-wide fence-line air quality monitoring at metal shredding facilities, as provided. The bill requires the local air district to, among other things, develop threshold levels for airborne contaminants in consultation with OEHHA, and to adopt regulations by July 1, 2027, to implement the requirements of the bill. The bill authorizes the local air district to be reimbursed for these costs pursuant to its fee authority. The bill requires DTSC to require metal shredding facilities to monitor and report hazardous waste constituents and requires DTSC to collect and analyze light fibrous material at the fence lines to determine the potential for release of hazardous waste. The bill requires DTSC, by July 1, 2027, to develop a community notification procedure, among other things.

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Summary

Establishes the Salton Sea Conservancy (Conservancy) within the California Natural Resources Agency to operate, maintain, and manage projects that are planned and built under the authority of the Salton Sea Management Program to fulfill the State's obligations under the State Water Resources Control Board Order WR 2017-0134. The bill creates a board of directors to govern the Conservancy and adds CARB as one of seven nonvoting ex officio members. Operation of the statute established by SB 583 is contingent upon passage by the voters of the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 at the November 2024 State election.

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Governor’s Signing Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am signing Senate Bill 583, which creates the Salton Sea Conservancy within the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to operate, maintain, and manage projects that are planned or built under the authority of the Salton Sea Management Program.

The Salton Sea Management Program is committed to building 30,000 acres of habitat and dust suppression projects around the Salton Sea to improve air quality and provide critical environmental habitat for birds along the Pacific Flyway. As the first projects are near completion, the state will need to transition to the operation and maintenance of completed projects. This bill will centralize the operation and maintenance of these projects in a new, mission-focused conservancy, led by the state, with extensive local community involvement and partnership. Importantly, enactment of this bill is contingent upon passage by the voters of the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, placed on the November 2024 ballot.

I support this approach, which balances the creation of a new, mission-focused conservancy with viable and stable funding sources. In signing this bill, I expect that this conservancy will remain focused on fulfilling its primary objective - operation, maintenance, and management of Salton Sea restoration projects - without placing undue pressure on the state's General Fund.

Sincerely,
Gavin Newsom

View Governor’s signing message here