BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1330 (Perez) - Environmental Justice.
Amended: April 9, 2013 Policy Vote: EQ 8-1, Gov&Fin 6-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013 Consultant:
Marie Liu
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1330 would require each board, department, and
office of the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA) to maintain a public database on its website listing
ongoing enforcement cases and compliance histories of its
regulated entities that have committed violations.
Fiscal Impact: Ongoing costs of at least $600,000 from various
special funds for database changes, hardware, and personnel.
Background: Existing law requires CalEPA to convene a working
group on Environmental Justice comprised of the Secretary for
Environmental Protection, the Chairs of the Air Resources Board
and State Water Resources Control Board, the Director of the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Director of
Toxic Substances Control, the Director of Pesticide Regulation,
the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the
Director of Planning and Research. The working group is required
to examine existing data and studies on environmental justice
and recommend policies for CalEPA. CalEPA is required to adopt,
by July 1, 2002, an agency-wide strategy for identifying and
addressing gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities
that may impede the achievement of environmental justice. A
report on CalEPA's progress on the implementation of these
requirements to the Governor and the Legislature must be
prepared by January 1, 2004 and every three years thereafter.
The California Public Records Act requires that all agencies of
CalEPA post every final enforcement order on its website if that
final enforcement order is a public record (GC §6253.8).
Proposed Law: This bill would require each board, department,
and office of the California Environmental Protection Agency
AB 1330 (J. Perez)
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(CalEPA) to maintain a public database on its website listing
its ongoing enforcement cases and compliance histories of its
regulated entities that have committed violations.
This bill would also require the Secretary of CalEPA to report
on its progress in identifying and addressing any gaps that
impede the achievement of environmental justice by July 1, 2014.
This bill would also prohibit the time necessary to use a
translator for a non-English speaker at a public meeting from
counting towards the speaker's allotted time.
Staff Comments: This bill would require each of the boards,
departments, and offices of CalEPA to maintain a public database
on its website of ongoing enforcement cases and compliance
histories of its regulated entities and how those violations
were rectified. This requirement is broader than the current
Public Records Act requirement that CalEPA post final
enforcement orders on its website in that in includes "ongoing
enforcement cases" as well as compliance histories to be posted.
Staff notes that some of the CalEPA agencies regulate a large
number of entities. The cost of modifying, then maintaining, the
agencies' databases as required by this bill is estimated at
$600,000 annually spread over various special funds depending on
the agency.