BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 671
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 671 (Logue) - As Amended: March 19, 2013
SUBJECT : State Air Resources Board: data sets
SUMMARY : Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to make
available to the public "data sets" upon which ARB relies in its
research and adoption of a regulation.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires ARB to:
a) Adopt and enforce regulations to reduce air
pollution and to meet state and federal ambient air
quality standards.
b) Publish proposed regulations for a 45-day public
comment period.
c) Publish specified information before the comment
period for any regulation proposed for adoption,
including each technical, theoretical, and empirical
study, report, or similar document, if any, upon which
the agency relies in proposing the adoption, amendment,
or repeal of a regulation.
2)Prohibits ARB from releasing proprietary, confidential, or
otherwise legally protected business information and requires
ARB to release information in aggregated form, where
necessary, to protect proprietary, confidential, or otherwise
legally protected business information.
THIS BILL requires ARB to make available to the public "data
sets" upon which ARB relies in its research and adoption of a
regulation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
According to the author, "every year ARB issues numerous
AB 671
Page 2
additional regulations based on scientific studies or analysis.
The studies that ARB releases are reviewed by outside parties to
ensure that the studies are valid. Yet often times without the
data sets behind those studies, it is difficult to determine the
validity of the study."
The author also references the same example offered to justify
AB 1085 (Mendoza), Chapter , 384, Statutes of 2009: During the
development of the Private Fleet Rule and On-Road Greenhouse Gas
reduction measures, ARB staff was repeatedly asked to provide
the data used for the benefit assumptions associated with the
regulations. The request was finally granted and the data was
released one day before the hearing.
AB 1085 addressed the issue by requiring ARB to publish
specified information before the comment period.
According to ARB, data generated by ARB is currently published
on its website. ARB may also rely on data from outside sources,
which it may or not have in an electronic format conducive to
website posting. In these cases, ARB will provide data to
interested parties upon request.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Construction Trucking Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092