BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2522
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Date of Hearing: April 16, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 2522 (Arambula) - As Introduced: February 21, 2008
SUBJECT : San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District:
vehicle license fees.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District (District) to increase vehicle license fees to
a maximum of $30. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations relative to the air quality of
San Joaquin Valley and the need for expanded emission
reduction programs in order to achieve and maintain state and
federal ambient air quality standards.
2)Authorizes the District to increase the current $6 vehicle
license fee limit up to, but not exceeding, $30 per vehicle
per year for incentive-based programs to achieve surplus
emissions reductions.
3)Requires the adoption of a resolution providing for both the
fee increase and a corresponding program for expenditure of
the moneys raised by the increased fees for the reduction of
mobile source emissions.
4)Authorizes the District to adopt rules and regulations to
reduce vehicle trips in order to reduce air pollution from
vehicular sources.
5)Authorizes the imposition of the fees until 2024.
6)Provides that the fees may be imposed after the 2012-13 fiscal
year only if the United States Environmental Protection Agency
approves the District's proposed reclassification of its
non-attainment status for ozone from severe to extreme.
7)Requires that at least $10 million of the fees collected be
used to mitigate the impacts of air pollution on public health
and the environment in disproportionately impacted
environmental justice communities, as defined in the San
Joaquin Valley.
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8)Requires the District to convene an environmental justice (EJ)
advisory committee, with participants selected from a list
given to the board by EJ groups from the San Joaquin Valley,
to recommend the neighborhoods that constitute EJ communities.
9)Requires the EJ advisory committee to recommend how the funds
should be expended within those communities.
10)Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB), prior to
the fees being effective, to make two separate findings that
the District:
a) Has undertaken all feasible measures to reduce
non-attainment air pollutants from sources within its
jurisdiction and regulatory control; and
b) Has notified ARB that fees have been adopted and has
provided ARB with an estimate
of the total funds that will be provided annually by the
fees.
11)Requires ARB to file a written copy of its findings with the
Secretary of State within two days of its determination.
12)Requires the Bureau of State Audits to audit the fee
assessment and the expenditures every two years that the fees
are assessed, and to submit these audits to the Legislature
within two weeks of their completion.
13)Requires ARB to assess the District's progress in using any
fees to achieve and maintain state and federal ambient air
quality standards every two years that the fees are assessed,
and to submit these assessments to the Legislature within two
weeks of their completion.
14)Requires the District to submit an assessment to the
Legislature by January 1, 2010, on the manner in which vehicle
license fees or other types of fees could be imposed on
vehicles that are not registered within its jurisdictional
area, but that travel through it.
15)Provides that no local agency reimbursement is required from
the State Mandates Claim Fund because the local agency has
requested the authority from this legislation.
AB 2522
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16)Provides that the provisions of this bill become effective
only if SB 240 (Florez), pending in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, is enacted.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the District, consisting of the Counties of
Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and
Tulare, and that portion of the County of Kern that is within
the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin, and requires the District to
adopt and enforce rules and regulations to achieve and
maintain ambient air quality standards, as provided.
2)Requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
under the federal Clean Air Act, to establish national ambient
air quality standards for criteria air pollutants at levels
that are required to protect the public health with an
adequate margin of safety.
3)Provides, under the federal Clean Air Act, that state and
local governments have primary responsibility for the control
of air pollution.
4)Requires ARB to achieve the maximum degree of emission
reduction possible from vehicular and other mobile sources in
order to accomplish the attainment of state ambient air
quality standards by the earliest practicable date.
5)Authorizes an air pollution control district designated by ARB
as a state non-attainment area for any pollutant emitted by
motor vehicles to levy a fee of up to $6 on motor vehicles
registered within an air district.
6)Requires an air district imposing such a fee to enact a
resolution providing for both the fee increase and for a
corresponding program for expenditure of the increased fees.
7)Requires the program to provide for the reduction of air
pollution from motor vehicles, and for related planning,
monitoring, enforcement, and technical studies.
8)States that after January 1, 2015, the fee levied on vehicles
within an air district is reduced from $6 to $4.
9)Requires the District to adopt a schedule of fees on area wide
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or indirect emission sources that are regulated, but for which
permits are not issued, to recover its costs associated with
these sources.
10)Authorizes the District to impose an additional $1 surcharge,
to be paid to the Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and deposited into the Motor Vehicle
Account for allocation to the District for certain purposes,
such as clean fuels programs and motor vehicle use reduction
measures.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)According to the author, "the San Joaquin Valley suffers some
of the worst air quality in the world, which poses a
significant threat to public health, the environment, and the
economy
of the valley. The Valley has the third highest fine
particulate matter levels in the U.S. and is home to four of
the five worst ozone-polluted cities in the U.S. One in three
Valley families has a member with a respiratory ailment, and
the poor air quality contributes to 460 deaths per year."
2)There are currently 2.6 million cars, trucks and motorcycles
registered in the eight county area that comprises the San
Joaquin Air District. Each owner of a motor vehicle
registered in the Counties of Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced,
San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare, and the valley portion of
Kern County pays an annual $6 fee, the revenue from which is
earmarked for air quality programs related to vehicle use. In
addition, the District is required to impose a $1 fee on
annual motor vehicle registration to reduce emissions through
activities such as clean fuels programs and adoption of motor
vehicle use reduction measures. These two fees combine to
generate $18 million annually, with a small percentage
retained by DMV to pay for its imposition and collection
costs.
3)According to the author's office, AB 2522 authorizes the
District to increase the surcharge on vehicle licensing fees
to $30 annually, per motor vehicle. The funds generated will
be used for incentive based air quality improvement programs
to bring the San Joaquin Valley into compliance with state and
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federal air quality standards by the earliest practicable
date. If the District fully exercises the authority provided
by this bill, annual revenue generated by the $30 air
pollution fee would initially amount to an estimated $96
million, an increase of $78 million over current revenue
generated by the combined $7 in fees. Because population
growth in the San Joaquin Valley is currently among the
highest in California and is projected to continue to outpace
the rest of the state, this revenue would increase
substantially over the years.
4)Supporters indicate that "poor air quality is a significant
threat to public health, the environment, and the economy of
the region. The San Joaquin Valley does not meet state and
federal ambient air quality standards. Therefore, creating a
program that combines more strict clean air rules and
regulations and ongoing funding to clean up sources of air
pollution is critical."
5)According to the District, "approximately 85% of the necessary
emissions reductions will come from regulations, but a
substantial increase in incentive funding will be necessary in
order to achieve the remainder of the reductions necessary to
attain federal air quality standards for ozone and particulate
matter. The incentive funding is targeted at mobile sources
of pollution that account for 80% of the nitrogen oxide
emissions in the San Joaquin Valley."
6)In opposition to the measure, the Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition
indicates that "in the past five years, the California
Legislature and local governments have tried to impose more
than $7 billion in new taxes while avoiding constitutional
approval requirements for tax increases. The strategy is to
disguise taxes as mere regulatory "fees" in order to avoid the
public debate and rigorous vote requirement that voters have
repeatedly demanded before taxes are raised."
7)This bill will only take effect if SB 240 (Florez) is also
enacted and becomes effective.
SB 240 is similar to this bill; however, SB 240 did not pass out
of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
8)This bill is double-referred to the Committees on
Transportation, where it passed with an 8-2 vote on April 7,
AB 2522
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2008, and to Local Government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Lung Association of CA
CA League of Conservation Voters
Coalition for Clean Air
Planning and Conservation League
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
Supervisor Michael J. Rubio, Supervisor, Fifth District, Kern
County
Opposition
CA New Car Dealers Association
STOP Hidden Taxes Coalition
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958