BILL ANALYSIS
SB 719
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Date of Hearing: August 22, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
SB 719 (Machado) - As Amended: April 11, 2007
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill increases membership on the San Joaquin Valley Unified
Air Pollution Control District governing board from 11 members
to 15 members. It does so by increasing the number of members
representing city councils from three to five and by adding two
public members, appointed by the governor and subject to Senate
confirmation. The bill also specifies that:
1)Three of the five city members be from cities with a
population of less than 100,000, with one member selected from
each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the
district.
2)The two new public members appointed by the governor must have
expertise in the health effects of air pollution, and that at
least one is a physician.
3)All board members must be district residents, and be appointed
based on their demonstrated interest and proven ability in air
pollution control.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible state cost.
Costs incurred by the district for additional board membership
or compliance with other provisions of this bill are not state
reimbursable, as the district has authority to levy fees or
charges to cover the costs mandated by this measure.
COMMENTS
SB 719
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1)Background . Air pollution control districts (APCDs) and air
quality management districts regulate the stationary sources
of air pollution to meet state and federal air quality
standards. The size and make up of their governing boards vary
significantly from district to district. The San Joaquin APCD
was created in 1991, when eight San Joaquin valley counties
(Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,
Tulare) combined their single-county APCDs into a unified
district.
The San Joaquin APCD's board is made up of eight county
supervisors - one from each county in the district - and three
city council members. Of the council members, one is from the
district's northern region, one is from the central region,
and one it from the southern region. Current law also requires
that one of the city council members come from a city with
population of less than 20,000, one from a city with
population between 20,000 and 50,000 and one from a city with
a population of more than 50,000.
San Joaquin Unified APCD board members are not required to
have science or health related expertise on air pollution.
2)Rationale . San Joaquin valley residents face some of the worst
air quality in the nation, and many have expressed frustration
regarding the pace of efforts to meet air quality standards in
the region. One concern is that, given the make up of the San
Joaquin Unified APCD governing board, existing members are
accountable to their local voters but not to the district as a
whole. The intent of the bill is to broaden membership and
perspective of the district's board.
The author states 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."
3)Opponents state that Sacramento should not be making
appointments to a board that has only local impacts. However,
state appointments to air districts are not unprecedented. The
governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Rules
Committee each have the authority to appoint one member to the
SB 719
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South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board.
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081