BILL ANALYSIS
SB 719
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Date of Hearing: June 27, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
SB 719 (Machado) - As Amended: April 11, 2007
SENATE VOTE : 26-12
SUBJECT : San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control
District: district board membership.
SUMMARY : Increases the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution
Control District's governing board from 11 members to 15 members
by increasing the number of city members on the district board
from three to five members and adding two public member
appointments made by the Governor and subject to Senate
confirmation. Specifically, this bill :
1)States that five city council members must be appointed by the
cities within the territory of the San Joaquin Valley Unified
Air Pollution Control District (District) and that there shall
not be more than one city council member per county.
2)Requires that three of the city council members be from cities
with a population of less than 100,000 with one member
selected from the northern region, one from the central
region, and one from the southern region of the District.
3)Requires that two of the city council members be from cities
having a population of 100,000 or more with each member
selected from different regions of the District.
4)Specifies that the term of office for city council members
appointed to the District board (board) is three years.
5)Adds two public members to the board, both appointed by the
Governor, with advice and consent of the Senate, as follows:
a) One who is a physician, actively practicing within the
district, whose daily practice or research specialty lies
in the health effects of air pollution on vulnerable
populations ; and
b) One who has medical or scientific expertise in the
health effects of air pollution.
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6)Sets procedures for the public member terms of office.
7)Requires that each member of the board be appointed based on
his or her demonstrated interest and proven ability in the
field of air pollution control and their understanding of the
needs of the general public in connection with the air
pollution problems of the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin.
8)Requires that each member be appointed on the basis of his or
her ability to attend substantially all meetings of the board,
to discharge all duties and responsibilities of a member of
the board on a regular basis, and to participate actively in
the affairs of the District.
9)Prohibits a member from designating an alternate for any
purpose or otherwise be represented by another person in his
or her capacity as a member of the board.
10)Requires all members of the board to be residents of the
District.
EXISTING LAW requires that the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air
Pollution Control District be governed by a district board
composed of 11 voting members, appointed as follows:
1)Eight members, one of whom be appointed by each of the
Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin,
Stanislaus, and Tulare. The board of supervisors of each of
those counties must, by majority vote, appoint one of its
members to serve as a member of the district governing board;
and
2)Three city members appointed by the cities within the
territory of the unified district, with not more than one city
member selected from one county. One city member must be
selected from the northern region, one from the central
region, and one from the southern region of the district. Of
the three city members, one must be from a city having a
population of less than 20,000, one must be from a city having
a population of not less than 20,000 and not more than 50,000,
and one must be from a city having a population of more than
50,000.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)According to the author, "The San Joaquin Valley (Valley)
suffers from the worst air quality in the nation. Poor air
quality negatively affects public health and the quality of
life for Valley residents. Valley residents have higher rates
of death and illness from respiratory conditions, including
higher incidence of childhood asthma. According to survey
data, air quality is consistently identified by residents as
one of the most important issues facing the Valley. The
Valley's air quality has also become a statewide issue; the
Valley's poor air quality affects crop quality and yields, and
is beginning to harm Sierra forests and other natural
resources downwind from the Valley." The author believes that
this bill "helps the San Joaquin Valley face its challenging
future by adding new perspective, expertise, and
accountability to air quality management decisions, and by
including representatives from the Valley's largest cities to
more adequately reflect the Valley's changing demographics."
2)There are 62 cities representing 2.6 million people in the
eight county region of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air
Pollution Control District. Currently, only three of these
cities can sit on the board at one time. The League of
California Cities selects which valley cities sit on the
board. The most heavily populated cities, Bakersfield,
Fresno, and Stockton, do not currently have a permanent seat
on the board. Bakersfield is finishing its current two-year
term on the board and will not be eligible to serve again
until sometime in the next decade. Fresno has not served on
the board since 1993 and the City of Stockton has never had a
seat on the board. The population of the Central Valley
continues to grow, especially in San Joaquin County where Bay
Area commuters have begun to migrate due to sky-rocketing
housing costs. The Central Valley is no longer just an
agricultural area but has now also become a fastly urbanizing
area as well.
3)The San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District
was established in 1991 when the population of the Central
Valley was 2.7 million people. Currently the population is
more than 3.6 million people, which means of the 11 members
who currently sit on the board, each represents 327, 273
constituents, almost the same number as found in an Assembly
district. The current composition of the board has been in
place since 1991. This bill would recast the way cities are
represented on the board to ensure that two large cities
(populations over 100,000) and three small cities (populations
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under 100,000) have seats on the board.
4)This bill would also require two public member seats to be
added to the board; one would be a physician, practicing in
the district, with expertise regarding the health effects of
air pollution on vulnerable populations; and the other would
be an individual with medical or scientific expertise in the
health effects of air pollution. These members would be
appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Senate. With these additions, the board would increase to 15
members and each would be representing 240,000 people.
5)Opponents to the bill say that Sacramento should not be making
appointments to a board that only has local impacts. However,
state appointments to air districts are not unprecedented. On
the South Coast Air Quality Management District board the
Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Rules
Committee each have the authority to appoint one member.
6)This bill is not the first legislative attempt to get the San
Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District to
provide more representation on the board. Until 1991, when a
joint powers agreement was reached, each San Joaquin Valley
county had its own air pollution control district. This made
it difficult to coordinate strategy and tactics. In March of
1991, the eight valley counties formed the San Joaquin Valley
Unified Air Pollution Control District to serve as the local
air quality regulatory agency. However, there were no city
representatives on the board. Although the San Joaquin Valley
Unified Air Pollution Control District was willing to add
three city members to its governing board, the existing state
law did not allow city representation. City officials
remained concerned about this barrier and they wanted San
Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District
officials to put five city representatives on a new 13-member
board.
7)As a backup in case the new unified district fell apart, city
officials wanted to form a new air quality management district
with broader powers and better representation. In 1991,
Senator McCorquodale introduced SB 124 that would have
established the San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Management
District if the eight counties did not merge their county air
pollution control districts into one unified district and add
city representation. The proposed San Joaquin Valley Unified
Air Pollution Control District would have included the
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counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin,
Stanislaus and Tulare, and required the San Joaquin Valley
Unified Air Pollution Control District to assume the
responsibilities of the former air pollution control districts
in each of the counties on and after July 1, 1992.
SB 124 would have also required the San Joaquin Valley Unified
Air Pollution Control District to have a 14-member board with
eight county members, five city members, and one
representative from the State Air Resources Control Board. SB
124 was drafted so that it gave the local officials one year
to complete the merger or have the bill's provisions take
effect. Because the merger was completed in time, the
provisions of SB 124 never took effect.
8)LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : SB 999 (Machado, 2004), which died in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee, would have increased
the membership of the board from 11 to 15, requiring two
gubnatorial appointments, one Senate appointment, and one
appointment by the Speaker of the Assembly. SB 999 (Machado,
2006), which failed passage on the Assembly Floor, would have
increased the size of the board from 11 members to 15 members
by increasing the number of city representatives from three to
five, adding two public members with specified qualifications,
and changing the appointment procedures for city
representatives.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Lee Andersen, Merced County Superintendent of Schools
American Lung Association of CA
Brian Calhoun, Councilmember, District 2, City of Fresno
Californians for Pesticide Reform
Catholic Diocese of Stockton
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
City of Arvin
Coalition for Clean Air
Community Action to Fight Asthma
Environment CA
Fresno Metro Ministry
Latino Issues Forum
Medical Advocates for Health Air
Merced/Mariposa County Asthma Coalition
National Parks Conservation Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
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Planning and Conservation League
Henry T. Perea, Council President, City of Fresno
Henry Perea, Supervisor, District 3, Fresno County
Jim Sanders, Merced City Council Member
Sierra Club CA
Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation
Union of Concerned Scientists
Individual letters (24)
Opposition
James W. Bogart, President & General Council, Grower-Shipper
Association of Central CA
CA Citrus Mutual
CA Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations
CA Dairies, Inc.
CA Independent Petroleum Association
CA League of Food Processors
CA State Association of Counties
Opposition (continued)
CA Women for Agriculture
Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
City of Visalia
County of Fresno
Fresno County Farm Bureau
Allen Ishida, Chairman, Tulare County Board of Supervisors
San Benito County Farm Bureau
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
Tulare County Farm Bureau
Western States Petroleum Association
Wine Institute
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958