California Air Resources Board

Summary

Allows specified civil penalties, such as for strict liability, negligence, and willful and intentional violations, to be multiplied by a factor of not more than three under the following conditions:  (1) the emission is from a source regulated under Title V of the federal Clean Air Act, and (2) the emission 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, the timeliness and accuracy of the notifications from the violator, and other circumstances related to the violation.

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Summary

Would have provided that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that provides that the policy of the State is to ensure that companies that contract with the State are not contributing to tropical deforestation, either directly or through their supply chains. Remains at the Assembly Desk.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, if it proposed a regulation to regulate an on-road mobile source, to prepare a lifecycle analysis, as defined, of any technology required by the regulation. The scope of environmental impacts in the lifecycle analysis would have been required to include, but would not have been limited to, the assessment from raw material extraction and processing, through the product’s manufacture, distribution, and use, to the recycling or final disposal of the materials composing it. The assessments would have been required to include, but would not have been limited to, consideration of carbon dioxide emissions. Was not heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, by January 1, 2027, to conduct an analysis of credits identified in the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District’s (District) ledger of available emission reduction credits (ERCs) to determine if any credits were issued in violation of State, local, or district laws, rules, regulations, or procedures in place at the time of original issuance. The bill would have required CARB to submit a report to the Legislature summarizing the analysis results. The bill would have required the District to aggregate and make publicly available on its website specified information regarding permits issued during a specified 17-year span that would require or would have required the use of one or more ERCs. Was not heard on Assembly Concurrence.

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Summary

Would have allowed, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2028, a credit against State taxes for a qualified taxpayer in an amount equal to $800 per ton of criteria air pollutant reduced beyond the baseline amount. The bill would have defined “qualified taxpayer” to mean a major source emitter, as defined, that has emissions levels of criteria air pollutants for the taxable year at least 5 percent below the requirements set by the federal Clean Air Act. The bill also would have defined “baseline amount” with respect to criteria air pollutants to mean the level of criteria air pollutants the taxpayer may emit to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. Was amended to deal with student loan debt.

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Summary

Would have added four public members to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District Board that are appointed by the Governor to serve four-year terms. Of these four, one member would have been required to be from a California Native American tribe chosen from a list of candidates submitted by local tribal organizations with a presence within the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin, and three members would have been required to be appointed with the advice and consent of the Speaker of the Assembly. Of those three, two would have been required to have subject matter expertise in environmental justice or social justice issues and been selected from a list submitted by nonprofit organizations that have a presence within the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin, and one would have been required to be a youth member between 18 and 26 years of age and been selected from a list submitted by either a youth-serving nonprofit organization or an institution of higher education, as specified. The bill also would have made changes to board member terms. Was not heard in the Assembly Local Government Committee.

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Summary

Would have required the Senate to direct its policy committees to incorporate more effective equity considerations in their analyses of future energy and climate legislation and would have resolved the Senate to explore methods to integrate equity more formally into its daily activities. Remains in the Senate Rules Committee.

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Summary

Requires the Secretary of Transportation to coordinate between stakeholders and provide guidance and recommendations to ensure the performance of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, the 351-mile rail line running between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. Additionally, the Transportation Secretary must: 1) develop a report  with assistance from the Secretary of Environmental Protection and Secretary for  Natural Resources and submit a report to the Legislature, no later than two years after appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of the report, about capital improvement projects, resiliency improvement projects, zero-emission infrastructure, and other recommendations, 2) convene a working group of stakeholders to submit consensus recommendations and feedback on or before February 1, 2026, on various topics relating to rail service in the corridor and 3) work with rail operations stakeholders to submit a report to the Legislature on the performance of the corridor no later than three years after an appropriation by the Legislature and biennially thereafter.

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Summary 

Would have required the California Energy Commission to form a 21-member Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Taskforce, upon appropriation by the Legislature, and would have required the taskforce to prepare a report by January 1, 2027, with information on existing fueling infrastructure and recommendations for how it might be used in conjunction with alternative fuels infrastructure at retail gasoline fueling stations, among other things.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 983 without my signature.

This bill would require the California Energy Commission (CEC) to form the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Task Force to conduct a study with information and recommendations on existing fueling infrastructure and how it might be used in conjunction with alternative fuels infrastructure at retail gasoline fueling stations.

This bill's implementation would result in additional cost pressure on the CEC's primary operating fund. Additionally, many provisions of this bill are duplicative of existing law, which requires the CEC, in consultation with various state entities, to prepare a transportation fuels transition plan.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Summary 

Would have required the California Transportation Agency and the California Energy Commission to jointly convene a Zero-Emission Freight Central Delivery Team (California Department of Transportation, CARB, California Public Utilities Commission, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, among others) to lead the statewide coordination of zero-emission freight infrastructure planning and implementation. This would have built off the recommendations of the assessment required by SB 671 (Gonzalez, Chapter 769, Statutes of 2021). This bill would have required the Central Delivery Team to promote the timely and equitable deployment of freight zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure by:  1) Strategically selecting project locations for freight ZEV infrastructure; 2) Coordinating actions among State agencies, utilities, and other stakeholders and developing a process to include nongovernmental stakeholders; 3) Identifying leads from regional transportation planning agencies, ports, State agencies, and other stakeholders; 4) Identifying available funding sources and public private partnership models; 5) Developing standardized station deployment models; and 6) Working with community colleges and ports to support training of skilled freight workers. The bill also would have required a report to be delivered every five years, with the first due on or before March 1, 2026, that outlined the team’s actions in the last year, best practices for planning and implementation, policy recommendations, and an assessment of the State's progress. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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