BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 570 SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman 2011-2012 Regular Session BILL NO: SB 570 AUTHOR: Rubio AMENDED: April 25, 2011 FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: May 2, 2011 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor SUBJECT : HIGH EMITTING SCHOOLBUSES SUMMARY : Existing law : 1) Provides the California Air Resources Board (ARB) with primary responsibility for control of mobile source air pollution, including adoption of rules for reducing vehicle emissions and the specification of vehicular fuel composition. (Health and Safety Code §39000 et seq. and §39500 et seq.). The ARB must coordinate efforts to attain and maintain ambient air quality standards. (§39003). 2) Provides that air pollution control districts (APCDs) and air quality management districts (AQMDs) have primary responsibility for controlling air pollution from all sources, other than emissions from mobile sources. (§40000 et seq.). Certain APCDs and AQMDs are established, with related authority, including the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD). (§40600 et seq.). 3) Requires the SJVUAPCD to develop, in consultation with ARB, a voluntary program to improve air quality by exchanging high polluter vehicles within the district for donated vehicles; authorizes interest from funds allocated to the SJVUAPCD from the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund to be used to administer this program; and requires the SJVUAPCD to submit a report to the Legislature on implementation of the program by January 1, 2012. This vehicle exchange program sunsets January 1, 2013. SB 570 Page 2 This bill replaces the SJVUAPCD vehicle exchange program (#3 above) with a voluntary program to replace or retrofit high emitting schoolbuses in the San Joaquin Valley. SJVUAPCD must follow ARB's 2008 Lower-Emission School Bus Program Guidelines and give priority to model year 1987 and older schoolbuses. SJVUAPCD must also report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2013, and January 1, 2014, on implementation of the program, including the number of schoolbuses replaced and the estimated emission reductions achieved through the program. This schoolbus replacement and retrofit program sunsets January 1, 2014. COMMENTS : 1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "School buses serve a vital need in the state by transporting students to and from school. However, school buses that were built prior to 1987 are also one of the biggest mobile polluters in the state. In the Central Valley alone, there are over 100 school buses in operation that were manufactured prior to 1987. Most alarmingly, more than one out of every four school age children in Kern County has been diagnosed with asthma, a much higher percentage than most counties in the state. Allocating funds to replace pre-1987 buses will improve air quality in communities throughout the Central Valley and California." The author notes that "SB 570 would allow for the ÝSJVUAPCD] to administer a program that would replace older high-emitting school buses within the district by using existing interest revenue generated . . . " 2) Background . Voters approved Proposition 1B (the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006) November 7, 2006. This bond act provided for a bond issue not to exceed $19,925,000,000 for certain purposes, including $200 million for schoolbus retrofit and replacement to reduce air pollution and children's exposure to diesel exhaust. SB 88 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Chapter 181, Statutes of 2007, contained various provisions to implement SB 570 Page 3 Proposition 1B, including the California Clean Schoolbus Program (Health and Safety Code §44299.90 et seq.) which requires ARB to allocate funds in accordance with the following: a) replace all schoolbuses in operation with a 1976 model year or earlier; and b) remaining funds apportioned to local APCDs and AQMDs based on the number of schoolbuses with 1977 to 1986 model years (each school district must determine the percentage of its allocation to spend between replacement of schoolbuses of model years 1977 to 1986, and retrofit of schoolbuses of any model year). All schoolbuses replaced under this program must be scrapped. SB 88 also requires ARB to prepare guidelines for the program, which are the 2008 Lower-Emission School Bus Program Guidelines referenced in SB 570. SB 1662 (Burton) Chapter 656, Statutes of 2000, and AB 2928 (Torlakson) Chapter 91, Statutes of 2000, created the Traffic Congestion Relief Act of 2000. The Act provided funding for several programs, including $25 million for the San Joaquin Valley Emergency Clean Air Attainment Program to reduce emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines operating within the eight-county San Joaquin Valley region. (Government Code §14556.40(a)(100)). SJVUAPCD is the lead applicant under the Act for this program. While most of the funds for the program have been expended for projects, SB 23 (Cogdill) Chapter 634, Statutes of 2007, created the vehicle exchange program and funded the program with interest from the San Joaquin Valley Emergency Clean Air Attainment Program. However, the SB 23 vehicle exchange program has not proceeded as expected because there was no entity to donate vehicles for the program. SB 570 replaces the SB 23 vehicle exchange program with the schoolbus replacement and retrofit program, and retains the SB 23 funding source (there is approximately $2.5 million available for the program). SB 570 also revises the reporting requirements and dates for reports, and extends the sunset from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2014. SOURCE : Senator Rubio SUPPORT : American Lung Association in California, SB 570 Page 4 Breathe California, Coalition for Clean Air, Fresno-Madera Medical Society (Air Quality Sub-Committee), Kings Canyon Unified Transportation, Natural Resources Defense Council, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, School Transportation Coalition, Union of Concerned Scientists OPPOSITION : None on file