BILL NUMBER: SB 1247	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Soto

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2004

   An act relating to air pollution.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1247, as introduced, Soto.  Air pollution: reduction of impacts
from mobile sources.
   Existing law designates the State Air Resources Board as the state
agency charged with coordinating efforts to attain and maintain
ambient air quality standards.  Existing law designates air pollution
control districts and air quality management districts as having the
primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all
sources other than vehicular sources, and, subject to the powers and
duties of the State Air Resources Board, requires that districts
adopt and enforce rules and regulations to achieve and maintain the
state and federal ambient air quality standards in all areas affected
by emission sources under their jurisdiction.
   This bill would make legislative findings and declarations
regarding the effects of emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered
motor vehicles and nonroad engines on public health and the
environment in the state.  The bill would declare the intent of the
Legislature to consider specified principles and criteria when
establishing programs to reduce and mitigate the impacts of emissions
from gasoline and diesel-powered motor vehicles and nonroad engines.

   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  no.
State-mandated local program:  no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered motor vehicles and
nonroad engines continue to represent the largest sources of air
pollution threatening the public health and environment of all
Californians, despite an aggressive array of regulatory and financial
incentive programs.
   (b) Recent studies support a direct correlation between air
quality and respiratory health, particularly asthma.  There are 2.5
million people in California with asthma, 500,000 of them children,
and the population of asthma victims is increasing.  Asthma is the
most common chronic childhood disease, which affects more than one in
20 children, and is the leading cause of school absences and
hospital admissions for children in California.
   (c) Toxic air contaminants emitted by gasoline and diesel-powered
motor vehicles and nonroad engines are also known to cause cancer in
humans.  Studies have linked diesel particulate pollution to lung
cancer and at least one investigation found a possible link between
brain cancer and air pollution.
   (d) To reduce emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered motor
vehicles and nonroad engines, and to protect public health, it is
necessary to establish a stable funding source dedicated specifically
to the purposes of air pollution cleanup and prevention, and the
treatment and education of sensitive populations suffering from
exposure to emissions from those sources.
   (e) Air pollution control districts and air quality management
districts are primarily responsible for reducing the local health
effects associated with air pollution in their respective air basins.
  Districts have experience in identifying and prioritizing
cost-effective programs aimed at reducing public health risks
associated with air pollution, and have demonstrated proficiency in
developing, negotiating, implementing, and monitoring public health
solutions that take into consideration the localized sources of air
pollution, the interests and unique vulnerability of sensitive
populations, the availability of emission-reduction technologies, and
the specialized resources of health professionals, health care
facilities, and health risk-reduction programs.
   (f) A number of regulatory and financial incentive programs have
been established to combat the threats to public health and the
environment posed by emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered motor
vehicles and non-road engines.  While regulatory authority is
sustainable, state and local regulatory authority over some types of
sources is restricted by federal law, and existing financial
incentive programs are limited by lack of a dedicated funding
mechanism.
   (h) It is necessary that legislation establish a program to reduce
and mitigate the impacts of emissions from gasoline and
diesel-powered motor vehicles and nonroad engines.
  SEC. 2.  It is the intent of the Legislature to consider all of the
following principles and criteria when establishing programs to
reduce and mitigate the impacts of emissions from gasoline and
diesel-powered motor vehicles and nonroad engines:
   (a) Stable funding sources and financial incentives dedicated to
the purposes of reducing and mitigating the impacts of emissions from
gasoline and diesel-powered motor vehicles and nonroad engines.
   (b) Maximum feasible emission reductions at the earliest possible
date, through application of existing control technologies and by
providing incentives for advancement of control technologies.
   (c) Cost-effective emission reductions that leverage third-party
financial assistance to the maximum extent feasible.
   (d) Preventing any single source category from bearing an unfair
burden in working to achieve clean air in the state.
   (e) Air pollution control districts and air quality management
districts, which are primarily responsible for reducing local health
effects associated with air pollution in their respective air basins,
should play a key role in determining priorities for reducing and
mitigating impacts of emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered
motor vehicles and nonroad engines, with input from all affected
parties.