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Legwatch 2005-06
| Corp. counsel (43 bills) Energy (21 bills) | Environmental qual. (65 bills) Govt. Relations (3 bills) Labor, employment (35 bills) | Tax (60 bills) Worker's comp. (11 bills) |
| ENERGY CMTA lobbyist: Joe Lyons, (916) 498.3341 | Position | Status | Renewable Portfolio Standard | AB 1362 (Levine) Accelerates the utility RPS 20% requirement from 2017 to 2010. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Failed passage | | Greenhouse Gas Emission Levels | AB 1365 (Ruskin) Establishes a State planning priority for a 7% reduction by 2010 and 10% by 2020 over 1990 levels. While the Kyoto Protocol requires the 7% by 2012, Kyoto does not have a further 2020 goal. As an aside, Brazil, China and India are exempted from the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol. In June 2005, the Governor issued an executive order establishing greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, taking the steam out of this bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Petroleum Reduction | AB 151 (Laird) Proposes a policy for the state of net zero increase in on-road petroleum consumption by 2010 and a significant reduction by 2020. Requires SARB and SCAQMD to adopt requirements for fleet vehicles, including public as well as private fleets, to purchase alternative fuel vehicles and install advanced transportation technologies where feasible and cost effective. Also requires Cal EPA to adopt model rules to require BACT and pollution control measures requiring installation by 2016. The Secretary of Cal EPA must report by 1/1/07 on how to achieve the zero increase and Cal EPA and BT&H must report by 7/1/06 on how to make up the lost revenue. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Renewable Portfolio Standard | AB 1585 (Blakeslee) Requires the CEC to include in the Integrated Energy Policy Report to be adopted Nov. 1, 2007, a review of the feasibility of increasing the target for the amount of electricity to be procured from eligible renewable energy resources to 33% by the year 2020. Chapter 579, Statutes of 2005. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Signed by Gov. | | Mandatory Labeling Requirement Relating to Electricity Usage | AB 1970 (Levine) The proposed “California Vampire Slayer Act of 2006” creates a state-level mandatory labeling requirement for consumer products using electricity, including electronics. A manufacturer of an appliance sold in California would be required under the bill to place a power content label on the products that shows the energy consumption and its annual operations costs when the appliance is turned on, turned off, or in standby mode. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Self-Generation Incentive Program | AB 2778 (Lieber) Removes fossil fuel combustion technologies from the Self-Generation Incentive Program, moves administration of solar technologies to the CPUC, and retains only fuel cells and wind as eligible under the SGIP until Jan. 1, 2012. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Mandatory Cap on California Greenhouse Gas Emissions | AB 32 (Nunez) Enacts the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to adopt regulations on or before Jan. 1, 2008, establishing a program to require the reporting and verification of statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels to become effective in 2020. Requires CARB to establish a series of enforceable interim emissions limits that reduce emission levels to contribute to meeting the 2020 limit. Requires CARB to consult with stakeholders in developing regulations and to establish an advisory committee consisting of three representatives from communities in the state with local air conditions, as specified. Requires CARB, beginning Jan. 1, 2009, to adopt GHG reduction strategies by regulation. Requires CARB to provide “flexible compliance mechanisms” (defined as: “mechanisms including banking, borrowing, and market mechanisms”) that provide compliance flexibility to entities, based on recommendations from the stakeholder process and the advisory committee. Requires CARB, prior to considering market mechanisms, to work with the advisory committee to identify circumstances under which the operation of market-based programs may worsen localized air pollution problems. Requires CARB to design emissions reductions strategies in a manner that minimizes “displacement” of GHG emissions (defined as “a reduction in GHG emissions within the state that is offset by an increase in GHG emissions outside the state. Requires CARB, no later than Jan. 1, 2008, to complete a study to identify additional substances, contaminants and particles suspected to cause or contribute to climate change. Requires the Governor to establish an interagency task force to ensure that existing state programs support the emissions limits established by CARB and to monitor conditions and coordinate planning and the state’s response to changing climate conditions as they impact state water supplies, air quality, environmental and public health conditions, and the state’s economy. CMTA supports addressing climate change impacts on California in a cost-effective manner, which for the purposes of manufacturers means that any requirement that would add to the already high rates paid by manufacturers must be avoided. This is a goal that should be supported by all stakeholders, inasmuch as it will reduce the likelihood of “leakage” (the movement of businesses and jobs, and the shifting of production, to other states without caps on emissions). It is the goal of CMTA that the targets set forth in the legislation are met with the best possible outcome for the California economy. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Resource Adequacy | AB 380 (Nunez) Requires the CPUC, in consultation with Cal-ISO, to establish resource adequacy requirements to ensure that adequate physical generating capacity is available to meet peak demand plus requisite planning and operating reserves. Requires that the cost of meeting resource adequacy requirements be fully recoverable from all customers taking service from the utility on a nonbypassable basis. Requires that all load serving entities, including energy service providers and community choice aggregators, are subject to the same requirements for resource adequacy, resource diversity, cost-effective energy efficiency, and renewables portfolio standard, as are applicable to an investor-owned utility. Chapter 367, Statutes of 2005. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Signed by Gov. | | Transmission System | AB 974 (Nunez) Requires the CPUC, by July 1, 2006, to prepare and implement a comprehensive plan to streamline the transmission permitting and siting process to provide for the cost-effective construction or expansion of transmission facilities. Requires the CPUC to consult with the CEC, Cal-ISO, Electricity Oversight Board, investor-owned utilities, appropriate federal, state and local agencies, California Native American tribes, and the public in preparation and implementation of the plan. Passed Senate Floor, August 2006. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Support | Vetoed by Gov. | | Renewable Portfolio Standard | SB 107 (Simitian) Accelerates the RPS 20% requirement to 2010, instead of 2017. Requires each retail seller, as defined, increase its total procurement of eligible renewable energy resources by at least an additional 1% of retail sales per year so that 20% of its retail sales are procured from eligible renewable energy resources no later than December 31, 2010. “Retail seller” is defined as an IOU, community aggregator or ESP. Additionally, requires the CEC to establish a renewable energy credit trading program and to develop tracking, accounting, verification and enforcement mechanisms for the program. Passed Senate. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Signed by Gov. | | Public Goods Programs | SB 1250 (Perata) Repeals the requirements for investment plans, legislative authorization prior to expenditure of funds, and independent review of the PIER program. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Signed by Gov. | | Electricity – Emissions of Greenhouse Gases | SB 1368 (Perata) Prohibits any load-serving entity, including electric service providers and municipal utilities, from entering into a long-term financial commitment unless any baseload generation complies with a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission performance standard established by the CEC, by regulation, in consultation with the CPUC and CARB. Requires that the GHG emission performance standard not exceed the rate of emissions of greenhouse gases for existing combined-cycle natural gas baseload generation. This bill would limit the available power sources to meet California’s energy demands while substantially increasing the price of electricity to consumers and businesses. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Hydrogen Fuel Performance Standards | SB 1505 (Lowenthal) Requires CARB, by July 1, 2007, to adopt performance standards for state-financed hydrogen stations so that 33.3% of hydrogen produced or dispensed at state funded fueling stations is made from renewable resources, and when the production of hydrogen dispensed for transportation purposes in the state exceeds 500,000 kilograms, to adopt performance standards for all hydrogen dispensed for transportation purposes. Requires CARB to adopt regulations ensuring that state funding for hydrogen fuel production as described in the California Hydrogen Highway Blueprint contributes to reduction of GHG emissions, criteria air pollutant emissions, and toxic air contaminants. This bill would hinder efforts to develop hydrogen as a transportation fuel in this state. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Vehicular Air Pollution – Biodiesel Blend Fuels | SB 1675 (Kehoe) Requires, commencing January 1, 2008, all diesel fuel sold or offered for sale in the state for use in internal combustion engines to contain at least 2% biodiesel fuel and, commencing January 1, 2010, all diesel fuel sold or offered for sale in the state for use in internal combustion engines to contain at least 5% biodiesel fuel. The bill permits the ARB to adopt regulations to grant exemptions if it finds that engine performance, engine emissions, or both, would be adversely affected by the standards, or if it finds that those standards are not economically feasible. The bill also permits the ARB to temporarily suspend those requirements if fuel supplies are shown to be inadequate. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | LNG permitting | SB 426 (Simitian)  Track this grassroots billEstablishes a permitting process at the CEC to evaluate and rank every proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and directs the Governor to disapprove an application for a license to construct and operate a LNG facility unless the proposed facility is evaluated and ranked, as specified, and the site is one of the two highest ranked sites pursuant to the act, and the Governor determines that among the available feasible technologies the technology chosen for a particular site minimizes adverse public health, safety, and environmental impacts. Requires that the evaluation be commenced by January 1, 2006. This bill would needlessly delay the permitting of LNG in California. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY | CMTA lobbyist: Mike Rogge, (916) 498.3313 Position | Status | Diesel Magnet Sources | AB 1101 (Oropeza) Sets up a patchwork of local regulations to reduce emissions from diesel magnet sources, such as ports, rail yards and airports, and was recently amended to language that may regulate other distribution centers. It appears to conflict with ARB emission reduction strategies and regulations for these same sources. Instead of continuing the ARB's existing, statewide regulatory authority over these sources, it shifts jurisdiction to the many local air districts, eliminating consistent regulation over these sources and consistent company-wide emission reduction strategies. It would require facilities that may attract mobile diesel sources to reduce emissions from these sources when, in many cases, the facilities do not own or control them. The bill sets the facilities up for failure. It also conflicts with the MOUs for locomotives and yard equipment, and might conflict with the ARB cargo handling equipment rule. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Drinking Water Standards – Boron Contamination | AB 1168 (Saldana) As introduced, the bill required DHS to perform a risk assessment and develop a public health goal for boron by 1/01/08. As amended, it now targets desalination rather than boron. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Vetoed by Gov. | | Locomotive Air Pollution Control | AB 1222 (Jones) Establishes a pilot remote sensing program for railroads with the Burlington Northern Pacific Railroad, the Union Pacific Railroad and South Coast Air Quality Management District responsible to reimburse state costs. The technology to be used in the program is unproven. In August, the railroads signed a Memorandum of Understanding and removed their opposition. Chapter 574, Statutes of 2005. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Signed by Gov. | | Hazardous Waste Facilities Permits – Financial Assurances | AB 1337 (Ruskin) Puts an unnecessary paperwork burden on permit holders. “Financial negative assurance” versus a bond for contamination cleanup language is not specifically addressed. DTSC is currently holding workshops on this subject. This bill was gutted and amended on 6/6/06 to deal with holding times during loading and unloading of hazardous waste and to provide an exemption from the need for a hazardous waste facility permit if the generator treats photo imaging solution. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Vetoed by Gov. | | Polystyrene in State Facilities | AB 1866 (Karnette) Prohibits state agencies from selling, possessing or distributing polystyrene food containers at state facilities. Amended to eliminate polystyrene as the sole target requiring packaging be recyclable and compostable and then amended back to original form. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Alkaline Battery Study | AB 2127 (Plescia) Requires a report from the Integrated Waste Management Board on the impact of alkaline battery disposal into normal trash, solutions and estimated costs for battery recycling infrastructure. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Support | Failed passage | | Green Building Guidelines | AB 2160 (Lieu) CMTA was in support until the bill was amended to require the Sustainable Building Task Force to define a life cycle cost assessment methodology to be used with respect to state building design and construction as well as private sector commercial development. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Signed by Gov. | | Hazardous Waste – Electronic Devices | AB 2202 (Saldana) Expands the existing substance restrictions in California from 6 electronic device product types to over 100,000. The bill has been amended to follow the lead of the United Kingdom and the implementation date has been backed off to 2010. Many of the significant objections have been amended out of the bill, however, in Senate Appropriations it was recommended that the funds to pay for the $950,000 annual enforcement cost for this bill come from the E-Waste Recycling Fund (a provision CMTA objects to). Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Minor Violations – Air and Water | AB 2394 (Aghazarian) Track this grassroots billReinstates a practice of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the local air districts that has been in statute since 1996, but sunsetted January 1, 2006. These entities have been required to identify the types of violations that can be considered minor and can be remedied with the issuance of a notice of violation. This bill does not require CARB or the air districts to do anything any differently than they have for the past 10 years in the classification of an offense or in the way they enforce compliance. Classifying certain unintentional offenses as minor violations and using a notice of violation citation for compliance, allows the regulatory agencies more time to concentrate on enforcement of more serious offenses and provide the companies involved with the ability to immediately make the necessary changes and accomplish compliance. The bill was opposed by the District Attorneys who want to use the minor violation provision as a trade-off for significantly higher penalties for serious or chronic violations. CMTA-Sponsored. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Support | Failed passage | | California Toxic Release Inventory Program | AB 2490 (Ruskin) Track this grassroots billCreates a California-only Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program to assure that current federal TRI requirements are not reduced. Actions are premature. A California-only program would be extremely expensive to operate and duplicative. The reduced reporting proposed by federal EPA would relieve some of the burden on small businesses whose emissions are of relatively low impact on the environment. The Assembly Appropriations Committee’s analysis estimated one-time costs of $1.5 million with ongoing costs of $400,000 annually. This bill was amended to only implement a California program if the federal program is modified to make the regulations less stringent or reduce any reporting requirement. It would no longer potentially establish more stringent requirements. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Vetoed by Gov. | | Native American Burial Grounds | AB 2641 (Coto) Places into law the new term “Native American burial ground” that can be easily interpreted to go well beyond the discovery of human remains to include associated grave goods (beads, crystals, arrowheads, etc.). Under the bill, once a burial ground is discovered as a result of any “ground disturbing land development activity” an open-ended tribe/ landowner consultation process must take place. Should a dispute arise concerning the existence of such a burial ground, the Native American Heritage Commission – a Tribal advocacy body -- would have the final say on whether the site is or is not a burial ground. It opens up broad new vistas of potential liability and uncertainty for development projects of all types, subjects landowners and project sponsors to an open-ended process of consultation while projects and project financing sit idle, and raises potential private property issues. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Signed by Gov. | | Air Pollution – Air Toxic Release Inventory | AB 2824 (Ruskin) Amended from an air emissions mapping bill with negative liability implications to a bill requiring that air emissions inventory be posted on a website in a user friendly format by 1/1/08. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Failed passage | | Schoolsites – Hazardous Emissions and Substances Environmental Impact | AB 2825 (Ruskin) Has been amended to place all of the onus on school districts rather than a potentially unfavorable bill to business operations. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Vetoed by Gov. | | Lead Abatement | AB 2861 (Ridley-Thomas) Increases the penalties for a person who fails to abate a lead hazard after receiving an order from an enforcement agency from $1,000 to a maximum of $5,000/day and/or 6 month imprisonment for a second or subsequent violation. This bill was amended on 6/15/06 to reduce the monetary penalty from $5,000 per day to a total not to exceed $5,000. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Signed by Gov. | | Refineries – Pressure Relief Valves | AB 2880 (Lieu) This bill was a gut and amend from a bill, which CMTA opposed, dealing with the California Integrated Waste Management Board and state buildings. The bill now requires the board, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and other relevant State agencies, to gather, analyze, and make available to the public, in part through a website, public resources about green buildings. It would require the board to establish an advisory committee and seek the advice of the committee in developing, maintaining and updating the website. Although this bill is no longer of concern to CMTA members, CMTA would rather see the Energy Commission guiding the development of these guidelines. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Failed passage | | Indoor Air Quality | AB 3018 (Lieber) Track this grassroots billGives the Air Resources Board authority to impose a new layer of unnecessary and burdensome re-regulation on a wide array of products to control indoor air pollution. This bill is duplicative of existing regulations and could result in unwarranted restrictions on the use of valuable indoor products, materials and appliances. These new regulations would not address the major causes of indoor air pollution, but would be costly and cumbersome. The fiscal effect is estimated at $300,000 in one-time costs to develop the program and ongoing costs of $500,000 annually. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Building Standards – LEEDS | AB 701 (Nava) Requires all state buildings on which construction or renovation begins on or after January 1, 2006 to attain a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating. This proposal singles out only one "green building tool" as the preferred standard for construction without considering the specific needs/policies for California and is in conflict with some existing policies. LEED standards were developed in a vacuum without the involvement of stakeholders that sought to participate. Adopting a blanket LEED standard locks the state into a standard it does not control and turns over its decision making to a private organization that isn't open to all stakeholders. 2-Year Bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | SCAQMD Regulation of Rail Yard Emissions | AB 888 (De La Torre) Gives the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), rather than the Air Resources Board, the authority to regulate all yard equipment, other than locomotives. The ARB is already promulgating regulations on all yard equipment at the ports and rail yards and a MOU signed with the railroads has only been in effect for 7 months. The state, which has the staff expertise and background to determine appropriate regulatory approaches, should continue to regulate these equipment sources. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Toxic Substance Substitutions | AB 990 (Lieber) Proposes to require the substitution of “priority toxic substances” with “safer alternatives,” but unfortunately lacks a sound scientific basis, could unintentionally result in the reduced efficacy of many products, is duplicative of current regulatory programs, and would be costly to California’s economy. This legislation lacks justification without conclusive scientific data directly linking these to-be-decided “priority toxic substances” and the current usage levels to human health problems or environmental degradation. AB 990 also lacks any formal methodology for developing the specified list of “priority toxic substances” and fails to consider the current regulatory scheme governing chemicals that is already in place at both the federal and state level (e.g. Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) and California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Prop. 65) also govern toxic or hazardous substances. 2-Year Bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Air Pollution Penalties – Particulate Matter | SB 1252 (Florez) Track this grassroots billAdds a new section to the California Health and Safety Code that authorizes new civil penalties for any discharge of PM2.5 or PM10 that violates State or Federal Ambient Air Quality Standards. The penalty would be up to $25,000 per violation initially and rise to $50,000 per violation after January 1, 2010. The existing system of fines and penalties contain provisions which already can subject a polluter to serious economic consequences. SB 1252 is not compatible with the current system that imposes a penalty for violation of laws, regulations, rules, permits or orders based on emission limitations and accompanying offset requirements established to attain or maintain ambient air quality standards. A business can be in compliance with its permit and still get fined under SB 1252 if the State or Federal Ambient Air Quality Standards in the area are exceeded. It would be difficult for air districts to prove that a particular discharge did in fact violate an ambient air quality standard and would lead to more legal challenges. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Power and Duty of State Air Resources Board | SB 1377 (Soto) While originally targeted at the railroad MOU, this bill has been amended several times. It would still be a deterrent to the development of future MOU’s by the Air Resources Board. This bill was amended on 8/7/06 to require public notice with at least 3 public workshops and a public meeting ratification of any MOU. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Failed passage | | Biomonitoring | SB 1379 (Perata) Fails to call for scientifically sound, peer reviewed procedures for interpreting biomonitoring results and incorporating these into risk assessment guidance, policies and regulations, as well as into materials to communicate and educate both the study population and the general public. Without such a framework, it is not possible to distinguish between levels of exposure that may be trivial from those of potential concern to public health. Scientifically based risk assessment guidance is necessary to ensure biomonitoring data is interpreted in the proper risk-assessment framework. Biomonitoring alone does not allow for scientifically valid conclusions to be drawn regarding any causal association whatsoever with individual or community health indicators. Interpreting biomonitoring data and applying this to public health policy requires a rigorous scientific undertaking. An approach that relies on biomonitoring data as the sole indicator for public health intervention will be faulty and would lead to an unwise use of limited state resources. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Signed by Gov. | | Native American Sites | SB 1395 (Ducheny) Requires a lead agency that determines a project to be exempt from CEQA and also might affect a California Native American prehistoric, archeological, cultural, or spiritual, or ceremonial place, consult, before acting on a project, with a Native American tribe regarding the potential affect and provide notice of exemption for the project to that tribe in advance and 45 days prior to commencing work. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Vetoed by Gov. | | Air Pollution – Marine Port Emissions | SB 1601 (Lowenthal) Requires the ports to demand implementation of “Best Available Control Technology” upon new leases or lease renewal, regardless of cost, jurisdiction or feasibility. The author did not bring the bill up for a vote on the floor of the Senate. Failed passage on Senate Floor. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Persistent, Bioaccumulative Toxicants | SB 1826 (Migden) Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to develop a list of persistent, bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals within the California Air Toxics Hot Spots program. As currently drafted, SB 1826 departs from global scientific consensus by “cherry-picking” elements from a variety of international and national PBT programs to craft a new, “California-only” chemical selection criteria. This departure is unnecessary and a waste of ARB’s limited resources and may make the Hot Spots program more costly for ARB to implement. Well-accepted criteria for PBT chemicals are already being applied at both the domestic and international level and those criteria make clear that in order to be considered a PBT substance, a chemical must be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. In late Aug., the bill was gutted and now relates to surplus state property. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Vetoed by Gov. | | Marine Terminal Air Emissions | SB 1829 (Lowenthal) Imposes a $250 fine/transaction on ports which do not load and unload trucks within 30 minutes, from the time the vehicle enters the gate until the time it exits. Fines could total in the neighborhood of 500 million dollars for the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles alone. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Drinking Water Contaminants | SB 187 (Soto) Initially required the Department of Health Services to revise the public health goal for perchlorate in drinking water as soon as possible after new methods for analyzing pathways of exposure become available, or after new findings indicate that the public health goal is insufficient to protect vulnerable populations. It did not require that the information be scientifically sound and could have set a precedent for perpetual review of standards. OEHHA came out in opposition. This bill has been significantly amended to require that health consequences be taken into account when determining economic feasibility and that more stringent regulations in other states be considered when determining a public health goal. It is no longer pertinent to perchlorate alone. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Vetoed by Gov. | | Rail Cars – Hazardous Materials | SB 419 (Simitian) Imposes unworkable registration and compliance requirements for rail tank cars used to carry materials essential to California’s economy without improving the security of these cars. The bill requires the creation of a costly “California only” standard for rail cars in the name of increasing security (yet the bill contains no provisions that would actually achieve better security). Uniform, national safety efforts are currently in place and are being further refined both by public and private sector stakeholders. If enacted, this bill would severely hamper the ability to deliver via rail tank cars a wide array of raw materials, fuels, gases, and other materials that are essential to countless industries, public agencies (such as drinking water disinfection facilities), farms, and rural consumers (who largely rely on propane to heat their homes). This bill will likely be pre-empted by federal statutes governing the manufacture, use, transportation and inspection of tank cars that carry hazardous materials. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Failed passage | | Air Quality Element in General Plans | SB 44 (Kehoe) Forces cities and counties to take on and pass on new and redundant air quality management responsibilities and obligations that bear little on the goal of improving the state’s air quality. SB 44 would mandate that local governments either adopt an air quality element as part of their general plans or amend those plans to include air quality assessments in all existing elements of their general plans. Local governments currently have the option of adopting an air quality element as part of their general plans, something they pursue as needed. The imposition of this new and unneeded state requirement will not only produce a new drag on local general plans and the ability to act on them, but will additionally create new opportunities for litigation. With its new state mandate for local general plans, SB 44 invites unlimited opportunities for legal challenges through existing authority regarding the consistency of those plans, and through new rounds of environmental review by re-triggering the California Environmental Quality Act. There’s been no action on this bill this year. There was no action on this bill until late August when it was gutted and amended to relate to vehicle dealer documents. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Failed passage | | Locomotive Air Emissions Tax | SB 459 (Romero) Authorizes the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to impose unlimited “fees” on railroad operations to reduce air emissions from other sources. This has the potential to substantially increase the costs of rail freight. Recent amendments specifically authorize the SCAQMD to use the fee imposed on the railroads for reducing emissions from other sources such as: incentives for emission control devised on diesel trucks, engines, and other equipment, creating incentives for the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles, engines, and other technologies, buying down replacement for, or retrofits of, diesel portable equipment (none of which have a nexus to reduction of railroad locomotive emissions). Such a fee also sets a precedent for other districts to impose a fee on railroads; is preempted by the federal Clean Air Act; ignores the recent MOUs signed by the railroads and CARB to substantially reduce emissions from locomotives and rail yards in the next few years; and, has the potential to make air quality and traffic congestion worse by moving more freight from trains onto trucks. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Netherlands Toxic Substance List | SB 490 (Lowenthal) Commissions OEHHA to work with the Netherlands to put together a reconciliation of their list of substances posing hazards to public health minus California’s Prop 65 and submit a report to the legislature by 3/1/06. There’s been no action on this bill this year, but it’s still listed as active. It is not scheduled to be heard before the second house committee deadline of June 30, 2006. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Signed by Gov. | | Pesticide Notification | SB 509 (Florez) Requires 24 hour advance written notification to all "individuals at risk of coming into contact with the pesticide". Individuals at risk includes but is not limited to residences, businesses, schools (in and out of session), day care facilities, health clinics, labor camps, hospitals and nursing homes located within a one-mile radius of the pesticide application. As written, SB 509 covers all pesticide applications including bleach, anti-microbial cleaning agents and other products required for health and safety reasons in schools, restaurants and hospitals. This bill would have been a communications nightmare but was amended to apply only to aerial agricultural spraying. 2-Year Bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Failed passage | | Waste Discharge Permits | SB 646 (Kuehl) Requires those who receive a conditional waiver of waste discharge requirements from a Regional Water Quality Control Board to pay a fee that covers the entire cost of the agency’s conditional waiver program without any controls or spending limits, leaving the door wide open to generate fees from businesses to pay for ever expanding programs. This bill will not result in improved water quality, but will take money away from private projects that have significant environmental benefits such as water quality monitoring, stream improvement, or road repair. This bill was put on the inactive file in May 2006. Amended to relieve CMTA concerns. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Failed passage | | Water Quality | SB 729 (Simitian) There were numerous problems with this bill. It did not qualify the Regional Boards proposed requirement to post claims on its website. In addition, the cost would be prohibitive. TMDL listing policy would be reopened and revised based on a very subjective set of criteria. The regional boards would be reconstructed virtually eliminating representation of local government or regulated parties. Numeric limits would be imposed on stormwater permit holders. A standard of strict liability for violators would be imposed regardless of whether water quality was threatened or if the violation could have been reasonably avoided. It appeared that many of CMTA’s concerns were being taken into consideration by the author until it was amended again. The bill now eliminates consideration of economics, housing, water recycling and other factors by regional boards in issuing waste discharge requirements. This bill was again amended on 8/7/06 and CMTA’s concerns were satisfied. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Signed by Gov. | | Ports – Container Fees | SB 760 (Lowenthal) Levies a $60 per container tax on all containers processed at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Not only does this bill violate the U.S. Constitution and basic international law, it would put the state’s largest ports at a competitive disadvantage. The fees required by SB 760 would likely force shippers to look for more cost-effective alternatives to California ports, damaging our state’s economy and pollution as goods will likely enter California through other, more polluting means. Given the nearly $20 billion in bonds that will be presented for a vote in November, we must continue to encourage additional investment by the private sector, not discourage it. Rumor is that this bill will come off the Suspense File in Appropriations and move to the floor. In late Aug., the bill stalled in Assembly Appropriations. It was amended into SB 927 to reach the Assembly floor. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Vehicular Sources – Intermodal Port Congestion | SB 762 (Lowenthal) Creates the Los Angeles-Long Beach Intermodal Joint Powers Authority and the Oakland Area Intermodal Joint Power Authority to manage congestion at these ports. This legislation ignores the PierPass program which began being phased in during June of last year. This bill creates additional government and would increase financial burdens. There’s been no action on this bill this year. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Emissions at Ports of LA and Long Beach | SB 764 (Lowenthal) One of 15 bills this session relating to ports and goods movement. SB 764 is similar to AB 2042, vetoed by the Governor last year. This bill requires the Ports of LA and Long Beach to develop a baseline for air quality for their respective ports; discuss potential mitigation and control measures to reduce emissions from ports sources; develop a date for which the port will meet their 2001 baseline for each source listed, but must meet their baseline no later than January 1, 2008. This bill requires the ports to control emissions of sources over which they have no control, will restrict future growth at the ports by establishing an arbitrary baseline that can-not be met (the 2001 baseline required in the bill has already been exceeded -- the port is already behind, and conflicts with the Air Resources Board’s regulatory efforts already ongoing to regulate emissions at the ports, and an MOU requested by the Governor to reduce emissions from federally regulated ships, trains and trucks. This bill has become active again and could threaten the use of funds appropriated in the budget for pot mitigation purposes. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Groundwater | SB 820 (Kuehl) Requires the Department of Resources, to prepare and deliver to all State Water Project contractors, all city and county planning departments, and all regional and metropolitan planning departments within the project service area a report on the existing overall delivery capability of a project’s facilities and the allocation of that capacity to each contractor, under a range of hydrologic conditions. The reports would start in 2007 and be prepared every two years thereafter. There would be increased costs to the state and development could be slowed or halted as a result. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Ports – Container Fees | SB 927 (Lowenthal) In late Aug., SB 760 (Lowenthal) stalled in Assembly Appropriations. It was amended into SB 927 to reach the Assembly floor. SB 927 now levies a $60 per container tax on all containers processed at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Not only does this bill violate the U.S. Constitution and basic international law, it would put the state’s largest ports at a competitive disadvantage. The fees required by SB 760 would likely force shippers to look for more cost-effective alternatives to California ports, damaging our state’s economy and pollution as goods will likely enter California through other, more polluting means. Given the nearly $20 billion in bonds that will be presented for a vote in November, we must continue to encourage additional investment by the private sector, not discourage it. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | GOVERNMENT RELATIONS | CMTA lobbyist: Dorothy Rothrock, (916) 498.3319 Position | Status | California Commission on Industrial Innovation | AB 2860 (Lieu) Track this grassroots billRevives a 25-year old commission formed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown and made permanent by SB 888 (Al Alquist) that faced twin challenges of foreign competition and domestic industrial obsolescence. It was made up of representatives from the public sector, business, labor and academia. The new commission would have an updated mission beyond computers and information technology looking forward to biotech, nanotechnology and advanced "lean" manufacturing of all types, ensuring the capture by California of high-wage employment and new investments that will be made in cutting-edge, new technology manufacturing. CMTA-Sponsored. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Support | Failed passage | | Discount Prescription Drug Program | AB 2911 (Nunez) Establishes a CA discount prescription drug program within the Dept. of Health for drugs on an out-patient basis to uninsured residents with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT | CMTA lobbyist: Willie Washington, (916) 498.3322 Position | Status | Severance Offers – Disclosure | AB 1310 (Nunez) Forbids an employer to offer cash or any other thing of value to an employee in return for that employee’s voluntary resignation from employment unless the employer provides, at the time of the offer, to the employee specific disclosures on the financial consequences of accepting the offer and a 21-day period in which the employee can reconsider the offer. This bill would provide for a $100 per day penalty payable to the aggrieved employee for the period between the offer and the date that the employer provides the required disclosures. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Gender Pay Equality | AB 169 (Oropeza) Increases and mandates the types of damages aggrieved employees may obtain in civil actions against employers for violations of existing law. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Dependent Health Care Insurance | AB 1698 (Nunez) Would mandate that employers provide health care insurance to their employees’ dependants until the age of 26 , but only when an employer chooses to offer dependant care at all, and irregardless of student status. Under current law California employers are able to provide dependant care under drastically different conditions. The most common arrangement is that dependant care is provided until an employee’s dependant reaches age 18, or, if a student, until age 24. 2-Year Bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Minimum Wage Increase | AB 1835 (Lieber) Increases the state minimum wage to $6.75 per hour beginning on 7/1/2007, and then to $7.25 per hour beginning on 7/1/2008. Thereafter, the minimum wage would increase annually based on the rate of inflation. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Sexual Harassment Training | AB 2095 (Niello) This bill has been amended to revise the laws that require sexual harassment training for supervisory employees in California businesses with over 50 employees. The change would clarify that only supervisors located in California would be subject to the training requirements. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Support | Signed by Gov. | | Employment Arbitration Agreements | AB 2371 (Levine) Track this grassroots billInvalidates arbitration agreements between employees and employers that relate to employment practices covered by the Fair Employment and Housing Act if the agreement was a condition of employment. This bill would also prohibit such agreements as of 1/1/2008 and provide that the burden falls on employers to prove that the agreement was knowing, voluntary and not a condition of employment. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Gender Pay Equity | AB 2555 (Oropeza) Increases civil damages available to an employee if they prevail in an action against their employment for violation of gender pay equity laws. This bill would also require all employers to provide their employees with written documentation of their official job title, rate of pay, and the calculation that was used to determine that rate of pay. The bill would also impose new record keeping requirements on employers and allow the Department of Industrial Relations to collect and analyze that wage rate data. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Meal and Rest Periods – Transportation Industry | AB 2593 (Keene) Creates a carve-out for the unionized transportation industry with regards to meal and rest period issues. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Minimum Wage | AB 48 (Lieber) Increases the state’s minimum wage to $7.25 per hour beginning 1/1/2006, and then to $7.75 beginning 1/1/2007, with annual increases based on the rate of inflation beginning 1/1/2008. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Occupational Safety and Health | AB 815 (Lieber) Track this grassroots billRequires the Department of Health Services Repository to prepare permissible exposure limits for any hazardous substances in which there is a quantitative risk assessment prepared or published by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. The PEL would have to be based on the OEHHA data. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Hazard Evaluation System and Information Service | AB 816 (Lieber) Requires chemical manufacturers, distributors, importers, suppliers and their agents to provide to the State Department of Health Services Repository, upon written request, the names and addresses of their customers who have purchased specific chemicals or commercial products containing those chemicals. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Employment Law Violations | AB 879 (Torrico) Provides that where an employer fails to file an answer to an administrative complaint, and fails to attend the administrative hearing, that the Superior Court will not hear the appeal on a de novo basis, but will review the administrative decision for an abuse of discretion only. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | ETP – Nurse Training Funding | SB 102 (Ducheny) Authorizes the Employment Training Panel to allocate funds as are available in the annual Budget Act for up to five licensed nurse training pilot programs to train individuals currently working as nurse assistants or caregivers in a health facility. Chapter 593, Statutes of 2005. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Minimum Wage Increase | SB 1162 (Cedillo) Track this grassroots billIncreases the state minimum wage to $7.25 per hour beginning on 7/1/2007, and then to $7.75 per hour beginning on 7/1/2008. Thereafter, the minimum wage would increase annually based on an undefined indexing method. In late August, the bill was gutted and amended to relate to drivers’ licenses. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Neutral | Failed passage | | Minimum Wage Increase | SB 1167 (Maldonado) Track this grassroots billIncreases the state minimum wage to $7.25 per hour beginning on 7/1/2007, and then to $7.75 per hour beginning on 7/1/2008. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Fair Share Health Care Act | SB 1414 (Migden) Requires companies with over 10,000 California employees to spend 8% of their annual payroll costs on health care insurance for employees. If they do not spend the required amount, they must pay the difference to the state to help support Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and other state-sponsored health care programs. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | ETP for Seasonal Workers | SB 1690 (Romero) Allows employers with seasonal workers to apply for ETP training funds and waive certain requirements to assist in eligibility. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Employment and Housing Discrimination | SB 1745 (Kuehl) Creates an open-ended civil right to action against employers who in any way discriminate against employees based on their status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Family and Medical Leave | SB 300 (Kuehl) Eliminates current age and dependency definitions of "child", thus allowing employees to take job protected leave for up to 12 weeks each year to care for independent adult children suffering from serious health conditions. It also expands the definition of "parent" to include in-laws, grandparents, siblings and domestic partners. A new broadly defined concept of "care" covers both physical and psychological attention. Under the bill, an employee taking job protected leave would not be required to be physically involved or actually participate in providing direct medical care for the family member. Also, under this definition an employee could qualify for leave by giving comfort and support to a covered person by telephone. Employers who know, or may have reason to know, that an employee may need family care and medical leave, must provide that employee, within two business days, specified information regarding their rights. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | ETP – Seasonal Employees Job Training | SB 314 (Romero) Allows the Employment Training Panel to allocate funds for training in job-related vocational skills to increase the productivity and extended retention of workers in the state’s major seasonal industries. The panel could also waive specific requirements contained in existing law under specified conditions in order to facilitate this training. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Universal Healthcare | SB 840 (Kuehl) Sets up a single payer health care system administered by the State of California. The sale of private insurance policies would be outlawed and an entirely new state department and bureaucracy would be set up. There is no funding source in the bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Vetoed by Gov. | | Minimum Wage Increase | SB 862 (Perata) Raises the minimum wage to an unspecified amount. This is an urgency bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | TAX CMTA lobbyist: Matt Sutton, (916) 498.3318 | Position | Status | Methamphetamine Labs | SB 421 (Simitian) Imposes a “fee” on manufacturers of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine because there is a “nexus” between PSE and the manufacturer of methamphetamine. SB 421 would make legitimate manufacturers offset costs of illegal labs to the counties and state. This is an example of the “Sinclair Paint” issue. If it were a “tax” rather than a “fee”, this bill would require a 2/3 vote rather than a simple majority to pass. 2-Year Bill. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | WORKERS' COMPENSATION | CMTA lobbyist: Willie Washington, (916) 498.3322 Position | Status | Workers’ Compensation – Treatment Limits | AB 1209 (Yee) Track this grassroots billDeletes provisions in current law that limit the number of physical therapy, occupational therapy and Chiropractic treatments that are allowed under a workers’ compensation claim. Current law limits all of these modalities to 24 sessions. This bill would delete those provisions entirely. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Workers’ Compensation – Proof of Insurance | AB 1883 (De La Torre) Creates a new “proof of insurance” law for workers’ compensation in California that could be costly to employers. Would also create a public website that identifies the insurers for individual insured employers. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | Workers’ Compensation – Vouchers | AB 1987 (Nava) Track this grassroots billMakes it significantly easier for employees to qualify for a supplemental job displacement voucher (SJDV). Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Failed passage | | Workers’ Compensation – Physicians | AB 2068 (Nava) Deletes provisions in the recent reforms that limit the ability of injured workers’ to pre-designate their personal physician and their primary treating physician. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Signed by Gov. | | Workers' Compensation Insurance | AB 3026 (Lieber) Rescinds many of the reforms embodied in SB 899 as they apply to public safety officers. Specifically, this bill would completely remove sections that deal with apportionment. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Watch | Failed passage | | Permanent Disability | SB 815 (Perata) Provides for three separate increases to the permanent disability fee schedule – the first being on 1/1/2007, the second being on 1/1/2008 and the third being on 1/1/2009. The increases to the schedule would occur in the number of weeks that an injured worker is paid benefits. For example, a permanent disability rating of 5% requires that benefits be paid to an injured worker for 15 weeks. Under this legislation that would double to 30 weeks of benefits paid to an injured worker. An increase of the magnitude proposed under this legislation would serve to significantly roll back the savings realized as a result of SB 899 (Poochigian), and return California to the days of increasing premiums, high litigation, and unpredictability in workers’ compensation. The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has committed to analyzing the current trends in permanent disability benefits and, if appropriate, to making administrative adjustments. Moreover, the DWC is currently in the process of completing that review of empirical data. Bill text at www.leginfo.ca.gov Oppose | Vetoed by Gov. | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||