California Air Resources Board

Would have established the Biomass Innovation Park Grants and Financing Program, to be administered by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA). Would have required CNRA to facilitate the process of identifying eligible parks, develop guidelines for soliciting proposals, and specify requirements for each park.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1666 without my signature.

This bill would establish the Biomass Innovation Park Grants and Financing Program, to be administered by the Natural Resources Agency, to identify biomass innovation parks.

I thank the author for his commitment to advancing the use of wood biomass to improve forest health and build wildfire resilience. In partnership with the Legislature, my administration allocated $50 million from the Climate Bond to the Department of Conservation to develop a program to fund the development of large-scale biomass facilities and identify opportunities to accelerate the utilization of wood waste biomass.

The program proposed in this measure would require additional resources not included in this year's budget. With significant fiscal pressures and the federal government's hostile economic policies, it is vital that we remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications that are not included in the budget.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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This bill requires that, if a solid waste landfill experiences a subsurface elevated temperature event (subsurface temperature exceeds 131°F), the landfill operators must notify and provide, when asked, subsurface gas and waste temperature data to CARB and other relevant agencies. This bill also allows the Secretary for Environmental Protection to create a multiagency coordination group to investigate and recommend ways to resolve a landfill’s subsurface elevated temperature event. If asked by this group, the owner or operator of the landfill experiencing the event must submit and carry out an air monitoring and sampling plan within a specified time limit. Owners or operators of a landfill must also reimburse the coordination group monthly for its reasonable and necessary operating costs. Owners and operators would also pay up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per day if they fail to comply with requests by the group.

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Requires CARB to amend its regulations on methane emissions from a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill to establish requirements for the monitoring of landfill gas temperature and requires the operator of an MSW landfill to monitor landfill gas temperature in accordance with CARB regulations. The bill also requires the California Department of Recycling and Resource Recovery (CalRecycle), on or before July 1, 2027, to establish minimum guidelines and coordinate with CARB to ensure consistency with CARB's methane regulation, and consider existing federal, State, and local guidance and stakeholder expertise to identify and manage subsurface elevated temperature events and minimum standards for a corrective action plan. The bill also requires tiered action if the gas temperature reaches 131 F, 146 F, or 170 F for a specified time frame. If an operator of an MSW landfill fails to provide notice of a sustained gas temperature within the specified timeframe, the bill authorizes CalRecycle or a local enforcement agency to impose a penalty of $10,000 per day and other penalties, as specified. The bill requires all penalties to be deposited into the Landfill Subsurface Fire Mitigation Account, which the bill creates, to be used upon appropriation by the Legislature to mitigate harm to a person or community adversely affected by a solid waste landfill, as specified. This bill makes an operator of an MSW landfill liable to CalRecycle and the local enforcement agency for their costs, as specified. Moved to the Senate Inactive File.

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Summary

Prohibits, beginning January 1, 2027, a person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale artificial turf, carpets or rugs, cleaning products, cookware, dental floss, fabric treatments, or upholstered furniture that contain intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The bill authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to adopt regulations to designate additional consumer product categories to prohibit the distribution, selling, or offering for sale of consumer products containing intentionally added PFAS within those consumer product categories if DTSC determines that safer alternatives are readily available at comparable costs. Was not heard in the Senate Health Committee.

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Summary

Would have established a new regulatory structure at the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) for metal shredding facilities. The bill, among other things, would have required that any metal shredding facility permit action taken by DTSC consider the conclusions and recommendations set forth in a community emissions reduction program prepared by a local air district and any other health risk assessment conducted by a local air district pursuant to the Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Information and Assessment Act of 1987 or other applicable law. The bill would have required that, if an air quality health risk assessment had not been conducted, the owner or operator of the facility would have had to conduct an analysis of equivalent scope and depth as approved by the local air district.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 404 without my signature.

The bill would establish a comprehensive regulatory program for metal shredding facilities to be administered by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and would require metal shredding facilities to obtain a permit from DTSC.

I support the author's intent to create a uniform structure for permitting metal shredding facilities in California. These facilities are critical to maintaining supply chain stability, recycling millions of end-of-life vehicles, household appliances, and other metallic items produced, used, and discarded annually in California. Unless recycled, these metal materials would overwhelm available landfill capacity, creating a massive accumulation of damaged and abandoned cars, appliances, and other items.

However, this bill lacks clear definitions regarding the materials processed at these facilities, including what "hazardous waste" requirements are applicable. Without this clarity, this bill is not as protective, places a significant burden on DTSC, and cannot be successfully implemented.

I encourage the author to work closely with DTSC and interested parties to remedy this issue, as well as ensure that any future legislation requires metal shredding facilities operate, and be permitted to operate, in a health-protective manner.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Summary

Requires an owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to reimburse a local air district for reasonable regulatory costs incurred by the local air district in implementing facility-wide fence-line air quality monitoring requirements at the metal shredding facility. Was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Summary

Prohibits, beginning January 1, 2028, a person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale a covered product that contains intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances unless the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) issued a regulatory response for the covered product pursuant to the Green Chemistry program or the prohibition is preempted by federal law. The bill authorizes a manufacturer of a covered product to petition DTSC to evaluate a covered product and requires DTSC to evaluate and provide a regulatory response for a covered product under the Green Chemistry program, as specified. The bill also requires DTSC, on or before January 1, 2028, to adopt regulations to carry out the bill’s provisions. Was not heard in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.

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Summary

Extends the repeal date of January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2030, regarding an alternative set of teleconferencing provisions for State bodies under the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The bill similarly extends the repeal date regarding an alternative set of teleconferencing provisions for multimember State advisory bodies under the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.

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Summary

Requires a local air district without a specified rule on emergency backup generators, as of January 1, 2026, that adopts such a rule to include in the rule provisions that allow the operator of a critical facility to use a permitted emergency backup generator in exceedance of the applicable runtime and testing and maintenance limits if specified conditions are met. The bill requires a critical facility allowed to exceed applicable limits, as specified, to attest to and provide evidence of having taken demonstrable steps toward implementing the use of backup power technologies that meet or exceed emission standards set by CARB. Was not heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Summary

Spot bill stating that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation related to clean air basins. Remains in the Senate Rules Committee.

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